Only Time
by charmedkat48
Summary: CharmedXHP. Phoebe's cruel. Prue's controlling. Piper's geeky. And Paige can't stand up for herself. These sisters are bad enough on their own, but what happens when they meet up with Hogwarts, Lily, the Marauders, and their destiny? Only time will tell.
1. Sister Vs Sister

**A/N: this is a teen fic that I just had an urge to write. This chapter is all about the sisters, but the next chapter will involve Lily and the Marauders. Just so you know, the sisters live in England, not San Francisco. **

Paige stared at the portrait of the old man, tensely waiting. His eyes bore into her as she began to lose her confidence. Crossing her arms, she turned to her older sisters. "I know you don't believe me," she said, "but I know what I saw, and I saw him move." Her voice became quieter as she commented to herself, "I swear that he moved." She glanced back at the old man, hoping that she would catch a shift in his position. The man was still. Paige wanted to cry out in frustration, but that wouldn't help her. Instead she scowled at the portrait.

"Paige," Prue began, "you were probably tired. Your eyes played tricks on you."

Paige looked up at her eighteen-year-old sister. "You don't believe me. Just say it. You think I'm crazy, don't you?" Her eyes accused her two other sisters.

"We don't think you're crazy," Piper assured her. "But you haven't seen the picture move again, so it was probably just your imagination."

Phoebe snorted. "Speak for yourself, sis." She looked coldly at Paige. It was a well-known fact that Phoebe resented her eleven-year-old sister. She had been that way ever since the age of four, when Paige had been born. Phoebe always did everything that she could to ensure that Paige suffered.

Paige had to force herself to look away from Phoebe. A lump was beginning to form in her throat. She just didn't understand why Phoebe hated her so much. Prue and Piper had always treated her kindly, but Phoebe acted like Paige was an intruder instead of her sister.

"Phoebe, maybe you should leave," Prue said.

"Gladly," Phoebe said with a crooked smile. She could see that Paige was inches from tears, and that made her quite proud. "I have better things to do than listen to Paige's ramblings." She then turned and went down the attic stairs.

"You know, you were probably right," Paige managed to say. "I only got a quick glance, and it was pretty dark. Sorry I brought you up here for nothing." She wanted to be alone. She hated crying in front of her sisters, and she didn't think that she would be able to hold back her tears much longer.

Prue saw the real issue easily. "Don't let her get you down," she said softly and put her arm around Paige. "Phoebe is an angry, mixed up person. It's not about you at all."

"I know," Paige whispered, trying to hide the tears that had started to fall from her eyes. "I just want to be alone now."

"Okay, sweetie," Prue said. She and Piper left.

Paige slid down to the floor, crying silently. Why did Phoebe resent her so much? What had she done to deserve this? Paige often tried to discover the reasoning behind Phoebe's hatred of her, but she had never come up with a motive. She had tried to get Phoebe to like her, but it seemed that nothing could be done.

Once she had cried all the tears that she had, she looked at the three paintings that hung on the walls that encased the stairway landing. The landing was the only part of the attic that could be accessed. There was no door into the attic; it had been sealed off long ago. Paige often wondered if there was a door behind one of the three paintings, but she had never been able to take any of the paintings off the wall. The old man, the cloaked figure, and the ghostly form were stuck to the walls, though Paige couldn't tell how.

The paintings of the cloaked figure and the ghostly form had always rather frightened Paige. Not being able to see their faces was what really bothered her. She could tell that they were both women, but any other features were indistinguishable. The cloaked figure was in a darkened forest while the ghost was in an ethereal wasteland that was shrouded by fog. Those settings were quite disturbing, but there was another thing about the paintings that made Paige fear them.

Paige was an insomniac, like her grandmother. She was often up late at night while everyone else was asleep. She liked to wander the house, basking in the tranquility and silence. Usually she would return to her room after an hour of wandering. Her bedroom was located right next to the stairway to the attic, and as she was returning to her bedroom one night when she was seven, Paige had heard voices in the attic. Phoebe had often made fun of Paige because she wasn't the most daring of all people. In order to prove Phoebe wrong, Paige had gone up the attic stairs. She could clearly remember the conversation she had heard as she had climbed the stairs, her heart thumping and her breathing shallow.

"…the question is, will they enter the wizarding world?" a mature masculine voice had said.

"I don't see why not," a young feminine voice had replied. "They have every right."

"Obviously they won't," a second feminine voice had argued. "Piper's twelve, Phoebe is eleven, and Prudence is fourteen. They would have been accepted by now."

"Penny accidentally blocked more power than she should have," the man had said. "But that doesn't mean that they will be barred from our world once they reach their powers."

At this point, Paige had reached the top of the stairs. She had flicked on the lights to discover that no one was there. She had stood there, dumbfounded, before descending the stairs again.

Paige still sometimes heard three voices talking somewhere in the attic. At first, Paige had concluded that the attic was haunted. But after seeing the portrait of the old man move, she was beginning to think that the paintings could take on their own lives. Eyeing the paintings, she found that that wasn't a very comforting idea. She stood up and made to leave. Suddenly she turned around and said, "I know you three can move and talk, and I am going to catch you in the act." She put on a formidable look and started down the stairs. Halfway down, she heard a chuckle and a murmured word that she didn't quite catch. But she didn't look back.

* * *

"Paige is losing it," Phoebe announced as she entered the kitchen.

"Shut it, Pheebs," Prue said, entering behind her. "Paige is not losing it. I don't appreciate you talking about her like that. She's your sister."

"Half sister," Phoebe corrected. "And not by choice."

"Leave Paige alone," Piper said firmly as she too arrived in the kitchen.

Grams cleared her throat, attracting the sisters' attention. "Would you care to explain the situation with Paige?"

Phoebe motioned towards Prue. Prue glared at her sister. "Paige thought that she saw the painting move," Prue said. "Phoebe chose to make a big deal about it and made Paige cry again."

"Paige always cries," Phoebe said.

"You make a game out of crushing her feelings," Prue said angrily.

"Which painting?" Grams interrupted, trying to prevent any further bickering.

"The one of the old man," Piper said. "Why does it matter?"

"I was trying to get you back on the subject," Grams said. "I don't need any more fighting from you two. Prue, she's baiting you. You know that."

"Sorry, Grams," Prue said.

Phoebe stared bitterly at her grandmother. She was used to Grams talking as if she wasn't there. It was one of her tactics, as Phoebe well knew. "I wasn't baiting her. I was speaking the truth."

"It's your interpretation of the truth, Phoebe, and your interpretation has little to with reality," Grams said. "Now, just leave your sisters alone."

"I will if they do the same for me," Phoebe responded and left the room.

Grams sighed wearily and shook her head. "That girl will be the death of me."

"Not if I get to her first," Prue said. "Grams, Piper and I will finish making dinner. You're stressed out enough."

Grams smiled at Prue. "You're so much like your mother," she murmured. "I just wish that you didn't have to grow up so fast."

"Go relax," Prue commanded and shooed her out.

Grams climbed the stairs to the second floor and went up to Paige's door. She briefly considered going up to the attic, but decided against it as she thought of Paige. Paige was likely very distressed and confused. Grams had to make sure that she was fed the correct beliefs. Guilt tugged at her heart. She didn't want to lie to her granddaughter, but she really had no choice. Paige wasn't a witch yet, and she didn't need the burden of the truth. "Paige?" she said as she knocked. "May I come in?"

"Sure," Paige's voice replied.

Grams opened the door. Paige was sitting on her bed, a large photo album resting in her lap. Grams knew that Paige liked to look at the old pictures whenever she got upset.

"I suppose you came to talk about the painting," Paige said, fiddling with the album cover distractedly. "And I'm not going to take back what I said. I know that there's something weird about those paintings."

"I didn't come to talk about that," Grams assured her. She sat down on the bed. "I came to talk about Phoebe."

Paige hugged the photo album to her chest and bit her lip. "I don't really want to talk about her right now."

"Paige, Phoebe has been struggling with her anger for a while," Grams said, "and she doesn't know how to deal with herself or her feelings. She's taking her anger out on you, but you don't have to allow her to do that."

"I try to talk to her," Paige said. "I want to help her. I know she misses mom and Victor…"

"You can't handle Phoebe's emotions," Grams told her. "She doesn't want to feel any better. She wants to make someone suffer for what happened. It's not your duty to save her, Paige."

"She hates me."

"She doesn't hate you. She hates her own pain, but she can't deal with it. I'm trying to deal with her. Don't worry about saving her." She stroked Paige's hair. "Just worry about yourself."

"It seems that I have to worry a lot," Paige said. "I have no idea if I really did see the old man move."

"It's the way it was painted," Grams said, playing out the lie carefully. "It's meant to be illusionary and life-like. Sometimes I glance at the portrait quickly and think that he moved. I guess that's what the artist wanted."

"Oh," responded Paige. "I guess you think I'm pretty dumb, huh?"

"Not at all," Grams said with a small smile. "Illusions trick us all. Now come along. The spaghetti should be done by now."

* * *

"So, Paige, did you see any other things moving around?" Phoebe asked while they sat at the table.

"No…" Paige muttered, blushing. She gazed down at her plate, hoping that Phoebe wouldn't say anything more. She had been so stupid. Why had she brought Phoebe up to look at the painting? She had been so caught up in her baffled excitement that she hadn't even thought of what Phoebe would say. Paige was never going to live this down. Phoebe would hound her with this forever.

"Phoebe, let's not get into that," Grams said, unspoken warning mixed into her miffed tone. "We're going to have a nice family dinner. Is that clear?"

"Crystal," Phoebe said pleasantly.

Prue jumped in with talk about her college in order to maintain a relatively agreeable ambiance. Piper threw in a few comments here and there while Phoebe and Paige remained silent.

Phoebe watched her younger sister intently. Every time Paige dared to look up, she caught Phoebe's gaze, which made her even more uncomfortable. There was a pleading in Paige's eyes that almost got to Phoebe. Once or twice, her scowl faded as she watched Paige. But she quickly brought back her anger, reminding herself that Paige was the bane of her existence. Paige pretended to be an innocent child, but she was a manipulator. Her birth had led to the end of all family unity. Phoebe hated her with every fiber of her being.

However, she could not bear to look Paige any longer. Such great hatred was incredibly draining. Without saying a word, Phoebe left the table, ignoring Prue's call. She went up the stairs, feeling the beginnings of pain deep within her. She always numbed the pain with anger, but it didn't seem to be working this time. She blinked away her tears and reached for her door handle.

"You almost gave us away, Albus!" a feminine voice hissed from up in the attic. "I know that you get restless, but she almost caught you."

Phoebe gasped and turned towards the attic stairs.

"Melinda, Penny convinced her that she was only seeing an illusion," the one called Albus said. "I won't move a muscle the next time she comes here. Besides, you're the one who laughed as she was leaving."

Phoebe's eyes bulged as the conversation continued. Cautiously, she made her way over to the attic door.

"Oh, that doesn't matter," Melinda replied crossly. "She has already heard us before."

"As far as she's concerned, we're ghosts," a third voice said. "So that is what we have to be. We're ghosts, got that?"

"Hey!" Phoebe called as she threw open the door and turned on the lights. She charged up the stairs, but there was no one there. Pressing her ear against the wall, she listened intently. Not a sound was a heard.

"Got it," Albus whispered.

Phoebe backed away from the wall in surprise. Where had that voice come from? Suddenly, Phoebe stepped back onto thin air. She yelped as she plummeted down the stairs and crashed into the door. It swung completely open. Phoebe lay on the ground, in pain and dazed… not a very good combination.

"Phoebe!" Prue appeared above her.

"Fell," Phoebe mumbled. All the other members of her family circled around her. They pulled her up carefully. "I'll be fine." The ability to move returned to her and she rubbed her smarting head. A bump was forming.

Grams looked Phoebe over but found no cause for alarm. "What were you doing up in the attic?"

"I…" She thought. "I don't know." She couldn't remember why she had been up there. It seemed like the fall had jarred the memory out of her.

"Well, let's get some ice on that bump…"

Grams and Prue led Phoebe to her room as Piper went to get some ice. Paige stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking up the old man.

"You're just an illusion," she whispered as she turned off the light and shut the door. "You're not real." If only she could truly believe that.

* * *

Phoebe's eyes flicked over to Paige, who was standing in the doorway. "What?" she snapped impatiently. She was not in the mood to deal with Paige.

"I was just wondering if you wanted anything…" Paige said, face downward. She was being submissive again, but she could do nothing to change that. It was much easier to submit to Phoebe's will.

"No one is here, Paige. You don't have to put on your little act." She paused and switched gears. "I want you to leave, preferably forever, but I can't always get what I want," Phoebe said, a cruel smirk playing on her lips.

Paige looked up and stared deep into her sister's cold eyes. She balled her hands into fists as repressed fury began to creep up to the surface. She burned with rage that she could no longer deny. "You are the most horrible person I have ever met."

Phoebe let out a little laugh and rolled her eyes.

"You hate me because you need someone to blame for all your losses. You miss mom. You blame me for Victor leaving, but it's not my fault! I didn't choose to be born from an affair. I didn't choose this!" Paige yelled.

"You about finished now?" Phoebe asked, bored.

"Freebie!" The word escaped Paige's lips. Paige clasped her hand over her mouth too late, eyes wide with horror. She had actually said that… She could hardly believe it.

Phoebe's smirk turned sour as she leapt up and slapped Paige. Paige stumbled back, mouth opening and closing wordlessly.

"I'm sorry, Phoebe…" she whispered.

Phoebe shook her head, disgusted. She could have no respect for this girl. She had no strength. "Get out of my house," she said calmly. She suddenly realized that she had power over Paige. She could command her to do anything, and Paige would not disobey. She was spineless. Phoebe felt a slightly giddy sensation as Paige ran to her room. She liked having power over her. She liked it a lot.

Paige threw her things haphazardly into the backpack. She couldn't think. She barely even knew what she was doing. She only knew that she wanted to get away from all the hate. She touched her hot cheek. That was a pain that she deserved. Satisfied with what she had packed, she spun around and ran down to the front door. Where was she going? The question was logical, but she felt no need to provide an answer. Her feet continued to move her forward as she scampered down the road. She didn't look back at the house, but if she had, she would have seen Phoebe watching her. And she would have seen something that Phoebe wouldn't have wanted her to see.

She would have seen guilt.

* * *

Phoebe paced in her room. Night was falling; Grams, Prue, and Piper would be back soon. Paige still hadn't shown up. Phoebe had been sure that she would come back after an hour or so. It was just a game they played… But now it was clear that the game was over. Paige had really run away, and it was Phoebe's fault. She stopped pacing and ran her hand through her hair. "God, I didn't mean it. Why did she have to take it seriously? She's so spineless!" She was trying to pin this all on Paige, but she knew that it was largely her fault. What was she going to do? She was going to lie her ass off, that was what.

"Paige! Phoebe!" Grams called out.

Phoebe emerged from her room and descended the stairs, trying to not appear guilty. She was a bad girl, but she couldn't keep a secret. She just had to stop herself from giving away this particular secret. It wasn't going to be easy…

"Where's Paige?" Prue questioned.

"How should I know?" Phoebe responded, successfully maintaining her usual tone.

"You should know because we left her with you," Prue said. "In retrospect, that was probably a mistake. She's in this house, correct?"

Phoebe didn't answer. Piper climbed up the stairs to get to Paige's room.

"Correct?" Prue repeated.

"No. Not correct," Phoebe spoke.

Prue grasped her younger sister's shoulders firmly. "Phoebe, what happened to Paige?" she said, speaking slowly and carefully. Her nails bit into Phoebe's exposed skin.

"She's not upstairs," Piper said worriedly as she reappeared.

"She ran away." Phoebe winced at her self-betrayal.

"You didn't try to stop her?" Grams said.

For once, Phoebe remained silent.

"Did she say where she was going?" Grams demanded.

"No. Oddly, she didn't want me to follow."

"If anything happens to Paige, it's going to be on you, Phoebe," Prue said.

"Dear, how will I ever live with that?" Phoebe sighed. A defiant smirk appeared on her face.

"You won't," Prue said threateningly.

A bit of Phoebe's confidence died out and her smile faded.

"Should we call the police?" Piper asked Grams.

"I doubt that those muggles will be able to do anything, but that's probably what we should do," Grams said.

"Muggles?" Prue repeated.

"It's nothing, dear. But we'll also have to make an effort. We'll have to search for her on our own. She couldn't have gotten too far, so we'll just search the neighborhood." She paused as a thought crossed her mind. "Unless… unless she got on the bus."

"Oh my God. She could be anywhere," Piper said frantically as Prue called the police.

Grams turned back to Phoebe. "Did you see her get on the bus?"

"Yes," Phoebe found herself whispering. Paige really could be anywhere. This was all her fault. Waves of guilt washed over her, erasing all angry pretenses. She had never meant for this to happen. She didn't want Paige to be gone. If she was lost or hurt… A million scenarios flashed across her mind. It would be easy for anyone to take advantage of Paige. She was young and delicate. She could be killed… and she would die believing that Phoebe hated her. The situation was becoming very real to her. She swallowed hard and tried to control her breathing.

"Are you going to help us?" Grams questioned sharply.

"Yes."

* * *

Paige walked along the streets of London. She was starting to see that she had made the stupidest decision ever. She shouldn't have left home. She had had no good reason to run away. She had done it because Phoebe had told her to. Paige mentally kicked herself. She was all alone, and she had brought it on herself. She just wanted to go home, back where she could be safe. She could get onto the bus and this would be all over…

All of a sudden, she was grabbed. She started to scream, but the person who had her muttered something, and she found that she no longer had a voice. She tried to strike the person, but he was holding too tight. Paige was completely helpless. _God, someone help me!_

Everything went black.

**A/N: review if you want more. If no one reviews, I won't bother with the story.**

**Preview: I have actually written a second chapter for this story. In the next chapter, Lily's whitelighter forces her to help James, Remus, and Sirius make a potion, though she'd much rather see them die. The search for Paige continues, and Paige discovers that she has been kidnapped, but she also finds that it isn't too bad. Interested?**

**_"Language, Evans. I thought you were a lady," James said disapprovingly. _**

**_"And I thought I told you to shut up," Lily said. "I would do anything for some duct tape right now."_**

**_James's eyebrows shot up. _**

**_"Don't even say a word," Lily told him._**


	2. Weirdoes

**A/N: thank you, animalzoo, Red-rumm, andy20, egastin77, and charmedsisters (though I am still waiting to get an informal name from you!) for reviewing the first chapter. This chapter is totally dedicated to you five.**

Lily Evans stared down at the breakfast before her and sighed for the third time that morning. Two weeks. She only had two weeks left until her fifth year at Hogwarts began. Hogwarts… Her heart leapt at the thought of seeing the castle again, then promptly sank as she was reminded of the person she would run into when she returned to Hogwarts. Potter. Anger washed over her and she viciously stabbed her egg. She was so sick of thoughts of Potter invading her pleasant thoughts of Hogwarts. Unfortunately, Lily could not avoid the association. _Damn Potter. _

"Lily, are you going to eat?"

Lily looked up at her mother. "Yes, mum." She took a bite of her toast, then went back to pushing her food around her plate. The Marauders were the bane of her existence. Potter alternated between playing pranks on her and attempting to charm her. She preferred it when he played pranks on her. Black was always trying to get into her friends' pants. Lupin… well, he wasn't as bad as Black and Potter, but he aided them in their mischief. Pettigrew was so helpless without his friends. But the four of them together… Lily winced, then brushed her red hair out of her face. She was not looking forward to dealing with them again. _God knows what they've got planned for this year. _

"I am _not _going anywhere near that freak show," Lily's older sister declared, jolting Lily out of her trance.

"No one said that you had to come, Petunia," her father said.

Lily tuned back into the conversation. "We're going to Diagon Alley today?"

Her father nodded. "Unless Patty shows up."

Lily made a face at the thought. "No way. I will not allow that to happen." She didn't have a problem with Patty. In fact, she quite liked the whitelighter. However, certain disagreeable things happened when Patty showed up, most of them involving the insufferable Marauders. Over the summer, she had been swept off to Potter, Black, and Lupin more times than she could stand. Lily scowled. She was supposed to use the summer to get away from them, but it seemed that she spent just as much time with them during the summer as she did during the school year. But summer training was over. She likely wouldn't have to face them again until the beginning of school.

Blue orbs illuminated the room. Lily fought the urge to stomp her feet when Patricia Halliwell appeared in the room. Patty had an apologetic look on her face. The message couldn't have been clearer.

"Don't say it," Lily pleaded.

"Sorry, dear," Patty said. "I have to say it."

"What is it now?" Lily asked sulkily. "Surely they must be managing on their own."

"Well, the demon Damazein has been stealing witches' powers. You're the only one who has mastered the vanquishing potion," Patty explained. "It is absolutely necessary for you to aid them." Patty knew how much Lily disliked James, Remus, and Sirius, and she could understand why. She had seen how the three boys acted; it made her quite glad that she didn't have sons.

"But I need to get my school supplies," Lily protested.

"It's your school supplies or their lives."

"I choose-" Lily started to say but was cut off by Patty.

"I will drop all four of you off in Diagon Alley after the vanquishing," Patty said.

"No, you don't have to do that," Lily sullenly said. "I'll do it some other time." She got up and went over to the whitelighter. "I'll be back soon," she promised her parents.

"Don't hurry," Petunia muttered.

Patty orbed before Lily could say anything. They landed in a large backyard. It was a place that had become very familiar to Lily. She had, after all, been coming to this place for around four years. Lily crossed her arms and looked up at the Potter residence.

"Evans," a smooth voice said. "What a lovely surprise."

Lily groaned and turned around. James Potter, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin were standing there. Just the sight of them made her want to flinch. "Shove it, Potter," Lily said. "I am in no mood. Let's just brew the potion so that I can get out of here."

"Why so cold?" James said, still wearing that haughty grin. "Here." He conjured a rose and offered it to Lily.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Brilliant idea, Potter. Why don't you just send the demon a personal invitation? Don't you know anything about Damazein?"

"Okay, that's enough," Patty said. "Work on the potion. Damazein may have already located you. Lily, call me when you're finished." She orbed out.

"Come on," Lily snapped and walked towards the house.

"She doesn't seem to like you much, Prongs. Are you going to give up?" Sirius asked, though he already knew the answer.

"Potters never give up, Padfoot. I'll get her eventually."

* * *

Prue sipped her coffee while Piper sat at the table, her cereal growing soggy. Neither of them could bear to eat. They hadn't slept a wink all night. They would have gone all night searching for Paige, but Grams had insisted that they go back to the house. Grams herself had yet to return. 

Piper opened her mouth to speak, but she had nothing to say. The silence was agonizing for both of them, but they just couldn't bring themselves to discuss the situation. It was just too painful.

"Hi," Phoebe said softly as she entered the room. Her sisters looked up but did not respond to her otherwise. She sat down at the table and joined the silence.

Prue and Piper were struggling against urges to shout at Phoebe more, but they knew that nothing could be accomplished if they did that. Yelling at Phoebe couldn't make Paige suddenly appear, not even if Phoebe showed remorse. Phoebe had shown some remorse, but no one could completely trust that she was truly repentant. Phoebe was far too good at manipulating people for them to truly believe her.

"No trace of her still?" Phoebe said, trying to break the silence.

Piper shook her head. "Everyone's clueless. Phoebe, are you absolutely sure that she didn't give any hints about where she was going?"

Everyone kept asking Phoebe that question over and over again. "I'm positive. She just ran to her room, packed her things, and ran out," Phoebe said, feeling like a broken record. "I'm sorry that I don't know more."

Prue banged the coffee cup down on the table, causing Piper and Phoebe to look at her. "What kind of a tone is that, Phoebe?" she said. "This night has been hard on us all, but you actually sound angry that Paige ran away."

"I meant it, Prue!" Phoebe shouted, standing up suddenly. "I can't help anyone. Besides, I think that anger is a rather appropriate reaction. Paige has done a stupid thing that has gotten us all worried to death. We should be angry!"

"We are a little angry with Paige, Phoebe," Piper said, "but we have to concentrate on Paige right now. We cannot focus on emotions."

"Fine," Phoebe said, sitting back down. Her normal demeanor was taking over again, as Prue clearly observed. Gripping the coffee cup tightly, Prue forced the hot liquid down her throat. She needed the caffeine. It was crucial that she stay alert.

"Do you think Grams will let us go back yet?" Prue asked, glancing at the time. "We've been here for five hours."

"You know that she won't," Piper said. "She wants us to stay here in case Paige comes home."

"Phoebe can stay here and wait around for Paige," said Prue. "Let's go back now. I can't stand just being here."

"Neither can I," Piper said and got up.

They headed for the door, but it opened before they got to it.

"Paige?" everyone said hopefully.

"It's just me," Grams said, her tone dismal.

They all let out the breaths that they had been holding in. No one said anything when Grams went upstairs, and no one questioned why she went up to the attic. They just went back to the original silence.

* * *

"Stop that," Lily said through clenched teeth. She was helping Lupin to create the potion, but Black was making it difficult for her to concentrate.

"Stop what?" Black asked offhandedly.

"Stop trying to read my mind!" Lily shouted.

"What is it that you feel you must hide from me?" he inquired. "Whatever goes on in your mind can never be half as bad as what goes on in James's mind. Unless it is…" He grinned.

"You are a sick bas-"

"Language, Evans. I thought you were a lady," Potter said disapprovingly.

"And I thought I told you to shut up," Lily said. "I would do anything for some duct tape right now."

Potter's eyebrows shot up.

"Don't even say a word," Lily told him. "Now kindly tend to your potions. I'm supposed to be teaching you this."

Potter shrugged and turned back to his potion.

"There," Lupin said as he corked his potion. "It's finished."

Lily silently thanked all the deities she could think of. "At least you've been paying attention. I'm surprised you didn't get it before."

"That was only because of those two," Lupin said and jerked a thumb towards Black and Potter.

"Ah, yes," Lily murmured, remembering how Potter and Black had been too busy writing out plans for the year to pay attention to Patty's lesson. Patty had promptly set their parchment on fire and had ended the lesson before the boys could succeed in their potions. Lily eyed them, but their backs were turned to her. Suspicious, Lily closed her eyes and tapped into her power. When her eyes opened, she was no longer looking from her view. She was looking through Potter's eyes, at a list. Remote viewing was very useful. She pulled back to her own view. "Potter, put the list away. We need all the potions we can get, even yours."

Potter turned towards her. "Is that a compliment?" he asked while blindly adding an ingredient.

Lily recognized what he had added. She decided not to say anything and ducked down behind the table, pulling Lupin down with her. He didn't deserve to suffer because of Potter's incompetence. Black, however…

A split second later, Potter's potion exploded, spattering both him and Black with purple goop. Lily straightened up and savored the sight. The only parts of the two boys that were visible were their eyes.

"Tsk tsk, boys. Looks like you should have paid more attention to me," Lily said, shaking her head.

Lupin popped up and started to laugh.

"It's not funny, Moony," Sirius said sourly.

She smiled. "I suggest you two get yourselves cleaned up. The potion that Potter created has some rather interesting side effects."

"What kind of side effects?" Potter asked.

"You can't feel it yet?" Lily said with her brow furrowed.

"No," Black said nervously. "What is it?"

"Oh, of course you wouldn't. Well, it's nothing to worry about," Lily said. "It's just that you might… just might… I mean, it's really improbable, but it could happen… You could lose all feeling in your body. There would be no part of you that would react to any stimuli." She smiled sweetly.

Lily was certain that she had never seen them run so fast.

"That's not really true, right?" Lupin asked.

"Of course not," Lily responded.

"So what did he make?"

"Bubblegum," Lily said. Mrs. Potter would recognize that immediately. Hopefully, she wouldn't tell Potter.

A sudden yell from upstairs told her that he had found out. Potter and Black would give her hell for this one.

_It was worth it, _Lily thought.

* * *

Paige came around a few hours later. As her vision cleared, she sat up and looked around. She was in a nice hotel room. There was a living room off to the side, and she could hear snoring coming from the room. Paige gulped a deep breath and slipped out of the comfortable bed. She was in a pair of unfamiliar pajamas, and her shoes were nowhere to be found. Paige didn't care. She looked out the window and discovered that she was at least ten stories up. She would have to get through the door. 

Silently, she sneaked into the living room. The television was on static. She almost gasped at what she saw when she turned to the snoring figure.

A huge man was asleep on the couch. Paige had never seen anyone so big. She was astounded, but she couldn't keep gaping at the massive man. She had to get out of there. Slowly, she turned the handle of the door and opened it, praying that nothing would awaken the man. She tiptoed out of the room and broke into a run. The stairs were so close… She threw open the door to the stairs and ran down them at breakneck speed, adrenaline pumping through her. She fell down half of them, but that didn't faze her at all.

Her heart burst with joy as she found that she was almost to the lobby. She ignored a loud popping sound behind her and sped up.

Suddenly, she stopped moving. Like in a bad dream, she was frozen in place.

"Paige Halliwell," a woman murmured. "Just where do you think you're going?"

Paige fought valiantly against her frozen state, but there was simply nothing she could do.

The woman stepped around her and faced her. She was tight-faced individual who greatly reminded Paige of Grams. She was wearing very odd clothing. The woman studied Paige. "You look a lot like your grandmother," she commented. "Now, there's no need to be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you. I just needed you to stop before you got some muggles involved."

Paige's confusion showed through her eyes, but the woman made no attempt to clarify anything.

"I am going to take the spell off," the woman said. "Do not scream and do not try to run away." She pointed a stick at Paige and muttered the countercurse. Paige fell forward into her. "You all right?"

"I'm fine," Paige whispered. "What are you?"

"No time for answering questions now," the woman said. "Just know that I hold a great power over you and that I do not wish to play around. Come along. I'm not going to climb all those stairs." She dragged Paige out into the lobby and over to the elevator.

A few people gave the two funny looks but said nothing. The pajamas clad pre-teen and the robed woman got off at the twelfth floor.

"Weirdoes," one person muttered.

Paige's earlier high dropped down to rock bottom as she was brought back into the room from which she had escaped. The woman closed the door behind her and tapped it with the stick.

"Hagrid," the woman snapped, her hands on her hips. "Hagrid. Hagrid!"

"Wazzit?" The man opened his bleary eyes. "Oh, bloody hell. She got away."

"You were supposed to be watching her, Hagrid," the woman reprimanded.

"I've been up all night watchin' her, Minerva," Hagrid said. "I was only sleepin' fer a few minutes."

"But that was long enough for her to get away," Minerva said. "Though I suppose I can let it go this time. She's back, and now we can explain to her. I hope that you can watch her long enough for me to get Albus."

"'Course," Hagrid responded. "Come 'ere, Paige." He patted the seat next to him. "I don' bite, I swear." He smiled at her.

Paige glanced at the woman. As she watched, the woman disappeared into thin air. Paige's jaw dropped open. "How…" She blinked a few times. "How did she do that?" She was starting to feel like she was going to pass out. She couldn't take much more stress.

"Well, she's a witch," Hagrid said.

Paige stared at Hagrid. She had stopped breathing and had lost the ability to speak.

"I know it's a bit o' a surprise, but…"

There was no need for him to finish the sentence. Paige passed out, landing lightly on the ground. Hagrid sighed, got up, and placed Paige on the couch.

"Typical Halliwell," he said to himself.

* * *

"You found her?" Grams asked. "Oh, thank you so much. I'll come over and take her home. I just hope she didn't see any magic." 

Dumbledore gave her a grim look. "Penny, you cannot keep them away from the world of magic much longer."

"They're not ready. They have no sisterly connections," Grams argued.

"They should have been trained at Hogwarts," Dumbledore said. "They are severely unprepared for their destiny. In your quest to protect them, you have greatly weakened them. Paige is young enough to be accepted, but the other sisters can be tutored."

"Albus, don't speak of that," said Grams. "Once people find out that they are the Charmed Ones, they will never be left alone. Demons will come after them, and the whole wizarding world will overcrowd them. They're not mature enough for that. They can't handle it."

"They need the training. You said that Paige is already curious about magic."

"Only because your portrait can't sit still."

"You've told me about other incidents," Dumbledore reminded her. "And the other sisters too are coming closer to the truth. How do you want them to find out? Do you want them to stumble across the magic world on their own? Or do you want to tell them?"

"Just let me work on them a little more," Grams implored.

"Time is running out."

McGonagall appeared in the attic. "Paige is awake. She broke free from Hagrid and nearly escaped, but she's back now. She has been exposed to magic."

"Albus, you know that they have to read the passage on their own," Grams said. "If you tell them they're witches, they will read the passage out of greed. You may tell her the truth, but don't tell her that she is a witch."

"I give you my word, Penny." He and McGonagall disapparated.

Grams stood there for a moment, then went over to the book and opened it to the passage. "Perhaps the time has come." She ran her hand across the page. "Perhaps."

* * *

Paige sat on the couch, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the one called Minerva. "So witchcraft is real?" she asked Hagrid. 

"Tha's righ'."

"I knew it," Paige said triumphantly. "I am so going to rub this in Phoebe's face." She paused and thought. "Can portraits move?"

"As long as they were painted by a wizard," Hagrid said. He looked at her curiously. "Yeh really know nuthin' about our world, do yeh?"

"Well, no one in my family has magical ability," Paige said. "Um, why did you kidnap me?"

"Kidnap?" Hagrid laughed. "It would seem tha' way, wouldn' it?" His laughter subsided. "We were rescuin' yeh."

"Rescuing me? You're keeping me here against my will. Besides, why would you want to rescue me? You don't even know me," Paige said.

"Paige, I've known yeh since yeh were a baby," Hagrid responded. "Everyone's been watchin' out fer yeh, though yeh didn' see us."

Paige started to question why, but the appearance of McGonagall and Dumbledore stopped her. She gasped when she saw Dumbledore. "You're the old man!" she exclaimed.

"I prefer to be called Dumbledore, Paige," the old man said, smiling at her. The smile and the twinkle in his eyes were exactly the same as they were in the portrait. "And this is Minerva McGonagall."

"Why is your portrait in my attic?" Paige asked, forgetting her manners completely.

"All in good time, Paige," Dumbledore said. He waved his wand and two chairs appeared.

"You have magic too? Wow." Paige was too amazed by the sudden discovery of magic to be angry. She didn't really care that she was being held against her will.

"Paige, there is a whole other world that you have never been exposed to," Dumbledore began. "It is the wizarding world. Wizards and witches are found all over the world. Those without magic – muggles, they're called – have no idea that this world exists."

"But why?"

"Muggles cannot handle magic," McGonagall explained. "They would try to get wizards to do everything. In order to keep the wizarding world running smoothly, muggles must not find out about our world."

"Then why are you telling me this?" Paige asked. "I'm a muggle, not a witch."

"You have been severely exposed to magic," Dumbledore fabricated.

"Why did you save me?" Paige pressed.

"Your grandmother is a friend of mine," Dumbledore said.

"Oh. So that's why she has your portrait."

Dumbledore nodded. He wanted to tell Paige everything, but he knew he could not say a word about her destiny. "During your lifetime, you have met many witches and wizards. They look as normal as anyone, but they have a gift."

"What about those sticks?"

"These are wands. They are magical aids. No witch or wizard can perform magic without a wand," he said. He considered if he was going to tell her about the exception. "Well, that is not entirely true. Some witches and wizards have a different magic that is added to their wand magic. Such a witch can use a type of magic that you probably know about. Psychic powers, you may know them as. Telekinesis, temporal stasis, pyrokinesis, that sort of thing."

"So this whole world has existed all along, and I didn't even know about it. Can I tell my sisters? They probably won't believe me, but it's worth a try," Paige said.

"Of course, Paige," Dumbledore said, nodding. "You and your sisters will be trusted to keep this knowledge secret." He stood up. "Now, I shall take you home."

"I'm going home like this?" Paige motioned towards her pajamas.

McGonagall swished her wand and some clothing appeared next to Paige. "They should be your size."

"Thanks," Paige said and went into the bathroom to change.

"Are you certain that we cannot tell her?" McGonagall asked. "We need to train her as soon as possible."

"She must find her powers on her own," Dumbledore said.

"But she doesn't even know the passwords," McGonagall said. "And Penny will kill you if you tell her how to open the portraits."

"Perhaps, but telling her the passwords is different from telling her how to get in," Dumbledore said.

McGonagall smiled despite herself. "You are sneaky, aren't you, Albus?"

Paige emerged, wearing jeans and a t-shirt. "So, do you guys have a car, or do you just disappear?"

"We're going to use a portkey for you," Dumbledore said. "Paige, I need you to remember these words: Merlin, Hogwarts, and the Charmed Ones."

"Merlin, Hogwarts, and the Charmed Ones," Paige repeated. "Why do I need to know them?"

"Don't worry about that. Just remember them." He held out a quill.

Paige touched it and a very odd sensation overtook her body. There was yank behind her navel and she was pulled forth.

**A/N: every author loves reviews, and I am no exception. I'm currently working on four different stories (plot bunnies are evil!), so their updates mainly depend on the reviews I receive. It's up to you, peoples. You can make the third chapter happen.**


	3. Shh! It's a Secret!

**A/N: thank you, animalzoo, X2P3, egastin77, Red-rumm, and charmedsisters for reviewing the last chapter.**

**Animalzoo: hehehe, I have to say, your review is my favorite so far.**

**X2P3: Paige is eleven, Phoebe is fifteen, Piper is sixteen, Prue is eighteen, and Lily and the Marauders are fifteen. Thanks for reviewing.**

**Egastin77: I'm glad that you're enjoying the story. Thank you!**

**Red-rumm: Lily has to help the boys because they didn't listen while Patty was explaining how to make the potion. Gracias!**

**Charmedsisters: thanks for reviewing!**

Paige did not like portkeys. She decided that the second after she touched the quill. At some point, solid ground appeared below Paige's feet. She was most appreciative. She stood very still for a while, waiting for her stomach to catch up with her.

"Oh my God! Paige!"

Piper had thrown her arms around Paige, wrapping her in a tight bear hug. Paige could feel the tears as they ran down Piper's cheeks. "Hey, Piper," Paige said, trying to be casual. "How's it going?"

Piper pulled back. Her eyes were red, and she looked absolutely exhausted. Waves of guilt immediately washed over Paige. She had caused her family so much stress for no good reason.

"Are you all right? How did you get here? Did anyone hurt you?" Piper urgently questioned.

"I'm fine, I swear," Paige told her. "You're never going to believe this. I-"

"Paige, oh thank God!" Prue now took her turn hugging Paige. Once she had squeezed all the air out of Paige, she backed off and started to look her over for injuries. At this point, Phoebe entered the room. The two younger sisters locked eyes. Paige saw only a flash of Phoebe's emotions before Phoebe again put up her shield. Her eyes filled with the familiar coldness. Paige wanted to look away, but she wouldn't let herself. She _couldn't_…

Both their gazes shifted as Grams walked into the room. Neither of them had won.

"Grams, I can't believe you never told me that you know a wizard," Paige said.

Phoebe started to laugh. "First you're going on and on about a moving portrait, and now you're talking about a wizard. What's next? Incantations? Or maybe you're going to try flying on a broomstick." She raised her hand and used it to imitate a crash landing.

Phoebe's cruelty stung Paige, but she now had proof of the wizarding world. She didn't have to listen to Phoebe. "Maybe I will try an incantation on you, Phoebe," Paige hotly said. She really didn't like saying things like that, but the comment was already out.

"He told you?" Grams had The Look, the one that could practically kill, on her face. The Look was unofficially trademarked by Grams, and mastery of it belonged solely to her. It was usually used exclusively in association with Phoebe, but now Grams had apparently decided to use it for someone else.

"Do you mean Dumbledore?" Paige asked.

"Yes," Grams said, practically growling. She turned her sharpened eyes on Paige, who tried to hide behind Prue. She hated The Look. "He actually told you that you're a-"

"Muggle?" Paige finished for her.

The Look promptly disappeared. "Of course," Grams said quickly. "Muggle… yes."

"So you knew about magic all along and you never even told me?" Paige said, pouting.

"It wasn't necessary for you to know," Grams responded. "I assume that Dumbledore explained everything to you."

Paige nodded.

"Um… Grams? What are you talking about?" Prue asked.

Grams sighed, hesitating. She didn't really want to tell Prue, Piper, and Phoebe about magic - especially Phoebe.

"Magic is real," Paige proudly proclaimed. "I met two real wizards and a witch. Plus, I saw them do magic."

Prue and Piper blinked, seeming a little overwhelmed. Phoebe looked somewhat curious, though she was obviously trying to hide her interest.

"Grams, is this true?" Piper finally said.

"Yes, magic is real," Grams responded. "Wizards and witches exist, and they use wands to perform magic. They do fly on broomsticks." She cast a glance at Phoebe. "The portraits in the attics can move and talk. Paige, you weren't seeing things."

"I'm having some trouble with this," Prue said. "How do you know this, Grams? Are you a witch?"

"No," Grams replied. "I'm a muggle. That is, I have no magical powers. I only know of the magical world because of Albus Dumbledore, a dear friend of mine."

As Piper and Prue tried to comprehend this new information, Phoebe shook her head. "I don't buy it," she declared. "I need proof."

"Well I can't give you proof right now, Phoebe," Grams said. She paused for a long time. "Girls, I have some advice for you. Don't worry about the magical world. It has nothing to do with you."

"But how can we just ignore this?" Piper said.

"I imagine you won't be able to," Grams said, "but I do hope that you'll try."

"Could you at least tell us more about the magical world?" Prue asked.

"No, Prue," Grams softly said. "Paige, come and eat some breakfast." She walked to the kitchen.

"Paige, you have got to tell us about what happened," Piper said.

Paige grinned. "I'd love to, Piper."

* * *

"What do you think you accomplished by doing this?" Lily yelled, just about ready to pummel Potter to death. 

"It was merely payback, Evans," Potter said.

Would it really be bad if she killed him? "Because of you, Potter, we are now at an even greater risk. And while I would not averse to watching as Damazein tore you apart, I do have a certain thing about self-preservation. I'm funny like that!" Lily's main source of anger wasn't coming from her sudden growth of wings, a tail, and lion's paws, though that did play a large role. No, she was more concerned about her lack of a potion. Potter, being an utter idiot, had decided to get back at Lily by slipping yarrow root into her potion. The resulting explosion had led to her acquirement of her new features.

Potter started to say something, but Lily cut him off.

"Don't speak, Potter!" Lily barked. "I'm not sure that you have the mental capacity required to grasp the situation. I will simplify it for you. We now have one potion. That means that we have one chance to vanquish Damazein. Are you really that confident in yourself?"

"Do you really have to ask?" Lupin quietly said.

"Evans, I hate to point this out to you, but you're the one who destroyed my potion," Black said.

"Oh, yes, I should have had more control over my newfound tail. It was all my fault," Lily sarcastically replied.

"You know, you really stress yourself out for no reason," Black said.

Lily had had enough. "Black, shut the hell up. I have had it up here with your pranks, your _quote-unquote_ charms, and your uncontrollable male hormones. You're obviously chock-full of testosterone, so I'm sure that you're perfectly able to handle Damazein on your own. I am leaving now." She stomped over to the stairs.

"And how do you plan to get home?" Potter questioned.

Lily whirled around. "Apparently, I can fly."

Potter was unruffled. "Patty," he called in a singsong voice.

Lily glared at him. "That was low, Potter, even for you."

Patty appeared in the room. She surveyed the tables covered in purple goop, the potion spilled all over the floor, and Lily, and she knew that James had done it again. "James, what have you done this time?" she asked, exasperated.

"She started it," Potter said.

"I did not!" Lily exclaimed. "You're the one who blew up my potion and turned me into - into this!"

"Okay, this doesn't matter," Patty said. "You have to make more potions before Damazein shows up. Do it quickly."

"I'll just conjure more," Potter said.

"The potency is maintained by the direct mixing of the ingredients," Lupin pointed out.

It was then that Damazein appeared - in a swirl of orbs. Luck, it seemed, was not on their side that day. Damazein wasted no time and threw a fireball at Lily, who hit the floor. The fireball only singed her wings. Lupin acted quickly, throwing his potion at Damazein. However, Damazein was able to cause the potion to explode. They all threw a few spells his way, which caused minimal damage but irritated him enough to make him orb out.

"I see he obtained molecular combustion _and _orbing," Lily commented. "Thank you very much, Potter."

* * *

Paige quickly found out that she was not going to have an easy time getting away from her family to go up to the attic. They kept around her, almost afraid that she was going to disappear. In addition, Prue and Piper were quite caught up in Paige's tale. Grams, of course, realized what Paige was telling them, but she made no effort to stop her. Paige had thought that Grams didn't want them to know about the wizarding world in general, but now she suspected that there was something specific about the magical world that Grams wanted to keep secret. Paige had a feeling that this mystery thing had a connection to the portraits in the attic, as well as the words that she had memorized. 

"I can't believe that a whole secret world exists," Piper said. She had a dreamy look on her face, as if she was envisioning herself in the world of magic. Paige knew certain things about Piper, so she knew that Piper wanted to find a place where she could belong. That was a desire that Paige understood. She too knew what it was like to be an outcast, both in school and at home. Of course, it was possible that Piper only wanted to know about the magical world. Piper seemed to want to know everything about everything.

"I know. It's amazing. I wish I could see it," Paige said. She gave Grams an extremely hopeful look.

"Paige, it's not as nice as it sounds," Grams said, shaking her head. "There are bad wizards and even demons."

"Demons? Demons exist?" Prue questioned.

Grams now looked uncomfortable. "Well, yes. But don't worry about the wizarding world. It rarely crosses with the muggle world."

"Then how did you meet Dumbledore?" Paige asked. "On one of those rare occasions?"

"I met Dumbledore while I was… uh… oh, it doesn't matter!" Grams crossed arms, looking annoyed.

"It doesn't? Come now, you must remember when you first found out about magic," Paige challenged.

"Paige Eileen Halliwell, I am telling you that it does not matter."

Paige winced at the use of her middle name. "What are you hiding, anyways?"

"I'm not hiding anything." Grams turned away and began to viciously scrub a pot.

"Grams, could you just tell us a little more about the magical world?" Piper said.

"A little information would be quite useful," Prue put in.

"Yeah, I want to know why they've been watching Paige," Phoebe said suddenly, reminding everyone of her presence. All eyes went on her. She fidgeted, then cleared her throat. "I mean… I'd like to know if Paige is lying about this."

"I don't want you getting involved in such a dangerous world," Grams responded.

"But if this world is all around us, wouldn't we be safer if we knew more about it?" Prue said.

Grams put down the sponge but did not turn around. "It's not that I don't want you to know that world," she said. "It's just that I don't want that world to know you."

The room became very silent. It was then punctured by the sounds of Grams's continued attack on the pot. Paige watched her grandmother very carefully. Grams was afraid; Paige could see that. But why was she afraid? Why _were_ Dumbledore, Hagrid, and McGonagall watching over her? What was the danger that was in the wizarding world?

There was only one thing that Paige could think of doing. She was going to talk to the portraits.

* * *

Paige sat at the top of the attic stairs. "The game is over," she declared confidently. "I know that you can move and talk. Grams told me. So you can just stop pretending that you're ordinary portraits." She crossed her arms. She was determined to get the portraits to move. 

For a while, they were still. Then the portrait of Dumbledore grinned. "You know about our world?"

Even though this was what Paige had been waiting for, she couldn't help but feel rather surprised by the development. She overcame her surprise quickly. "Yes, yes I do."

"And how much were you told?" the ghost-woman questioned. She had a loud, boisterous voice that Paige immediately recognized from the nightly conversations she had heard.

"Just the basics, really," Paige answered uncomfortably. The portrait of the ghost-woman was still rather unnerving to her. "Um, what's your name?"

"Melinda Warren," the ghost-woman said. "I'm your ancestor."

"Pleased to meet you," Paige politely said.

The cloaked figure cleared her throat, drawing Paige's attention to her. Purposefully, she put down her hood, revealing her black locks, which were pulled into a braid, her dark eyes, and the tan skin of her oval face. "I am Rowena Ravenclaw, one of the founders of Hogwarts."

"Yes, and she's ever so humble," Melinda said. "Now, Paige, have you been told about the attic?"

"No. Why? What's so special about the attic?" Paige asked.

"Well, there is a way to get into the attic," Dumbledore said.

"Albus!" Rowena reprimanded.

"Really?" Paige eagerly said. "How?"

"I'm afraid I can't say anything more," Dumbledore replied. "But did my more solid self say anything… odd?"

This apparently stuck Melinda as being quite amusing, for she promptly began to laugh. "How could she tell if something was unusual?"

Dumbledore didn't respond. He merely continued to stare at Paige.

"He did want me to remember these weird things," Paige said. She thought hard and was able to recall the words. "Yeah, he wanted me to remember these words: Merlin…"

Suddenly, the portrait of Melinda swung open, like a door. Where Melinda had once been, there was now a doorway of sorts, which was actually just a hole in the wall. The room that the doorway led to was completely dark.

"Go on in, Paige," Rowena said, smiling.

"Okay…" Hesitantly, Paige stood up and slowly stepped into the room. The portrait creaked shut behind her, leaving her in darkness. She did not like this at all. She froze, too afraid to move. Then the room lit up and Paige found herself in the midst of a room filled with jars that contained odd powders, liquids, and leaves. She cautiously picked up a jar that held a red powder. "Dragon's blood," she read off the label. Putting that back, she picked up another jar. "Rosemary." These jars were filled with herbs.

But what were they for? Paige could only assume that they were used for spells and potions. That didn't add up, though. Grams was a muggle. Why would she be interested in keeping a room a filled with herbs? There was something strange going on, and Paige had a feeling that Grams had something to do with it. Perhaps she was withholding some information. She was rather reluctant to talk about the magical world, after all.

However, this room was not going to help Paige very much. She didn't quite know how to get out, so she went over to the portrait and touched it, hoping that she would find some way to open it. To her surprise and satisfaction, the portrait immediately opened. Once Paige stepped back onto the landing, the lights of the herb room shut off and Melinda went back into place.

Now it was time for Paige to speak the next word. "Hogwarts," she said. This time, it was the portrait of Rowena that opened up. With greater ease, Paige went into the darkened room that was revealed to her.

The lights quickly turned on. The room Paige was in was a library. The cramped space was occupied by shelves overflowing with books. Paige picked one up and read the title. _A Guide to the Ministry of Magic_. Magic! Paige seized another book. _Everything You Wanted to Know about Dark Creatures_. She took two more books from the packed shelves. _Hogwarts, a History_. She switched to the other book. _Warlocks: When Wizards Go Bad_.

There was no doubt in Paige's mind. Grams was definitely not telling the whole truth. If she had nothing to do with the magical world, then why did she have a library filled with books about magic? And why did she have an herb storage? The library could be explained; Paige could understand Grams being interested in the magical world. However, the herb storage could not be as easily explained. Something was clearly off.

As much as Paige wanted to stay and read the books, she knew that she had to see what was held in the last part of the attic. She needed to find out what was in the room behind Dumbledore's portrait. With that motivation, Paige reluctantly left the library and stood before the portrait of Dumbledore. "The Charmed Ones." The portrait opened and Paige stepped into the room.

The lights flicked on. This room was larger than the others. It had a desk in the corner and a table in the middle of the room. A caldron sat upon the table. The far wall was completely made up of shelves. A few small bottles were placed at uneven intervals along the shelves. Some other supplies could be found on the shelves, but Paige didn't know quite what they were. She would have examined them more closely, but she was rather distracted by the stand in the middle of the room… and the book that had been carefully placed on it.

Paige walked across the floor, her footsteps echoing through the room. She stood in front of the stand for a while, just staring at the strange symbol on the front of the book, before she reached out and opened the book. "The Book of Shadows," Paige murmured and flipped to the next page. "Hear now the words of the witches, the secrets we hid in the night, the oldest of Gods are invoked here, the great work of magic is sought. In this night and in this hour, I'll call upon the ancient power, bring your powers to we sisters four, we want the power, give us the power."

Wait… Had she just read an incantation? Paige flipped to a random page in the book. "Truth Spell." She flipped all through the book and found that the Book of Shadows indeed was a book of spells.

But Paige wasn't a witch. The incantation wouldn't work for her… would it?

* * *

The scene was an all-too familiar one. Phoebe was facing Prue, her standard defiant look stamped on her face. Prue's eyes were burning with anger. How many times had Grams seen this before? Too many times to count. 

"I don't have any obligations to Paige," Phoebe angrily said. "I don't care what the genes say. She's not my sister!"

"Phoebe, you have to apologize to her," Prue said.

"I don't have to do anything for Paige." Phoebe turned and stomped over to the stairs.

"Phoebe, don't you dare walk away from me," Prue said. "I am sick of you walking away. Phoebe. Phoebe!"

Phoebe ignored her and started up the stairs.

Prue didn't try to stop her. She merely watched as Phoebe disappeared upstairs. Abruptly, she whirled around to face Grams. At that same moment, the lamp, the potted plant, and a stack of newspaper crashed to the ground. Prue took no notice. "How can we ever get through to her if she refuses to stay and listen?" The small table flipped over. "What is she going to become?" Paige's backpack flew across the room. Prue caught it with one hand. She looked down at it, then went to put it on the table. She was most irritated when she found the table flipped over. She started to put it back in place, but it flipped back up on its own. This got Prue's attention.

"Grams? How did that happen?" Prue asked numbly, switching her gaze to her grandmother.

"It would seem," Grams said, "that Paige has found the Book."

**A/N: this whole five-reviews-per-chapter thing is quite encouraging. I'd love for the pattern to continue (or even grow…). Wink wink, nudge nudge ;-)**


	4. You're Kidding, Right?

**A/N: yeah! The pattern grows! Thank you, my lovely reviewers. You've brightened an otherwise horrid week.**

**Animalzoo: ah, Dumbledore - always a tricky one. Lily and the Marauders are meeting the Charmed Ones in the next chapter, and the effects of the spell are revealed in this chapter.**

**X2P3: well, I'm actually sending all the Charmed Ones to Hogwarts. And thank you!**

**Charmedsisters: I thank, thank, thank you so much.**

**Egastin77: thank you! I love it when people consistently review a story… especially when it's mine.**

**Stacyc: I'm glad that you like the story, and gracias!**

**Faith Kingsley: aw, thank you! I simply adore putting the teen Charmed Ones in Hogwarts. I usually see them (in other crossovers) as teachers, but I think this is more fun.**

**Andy20: thank you! The sisters, of course, are going to have lots of fun with their powers. Control will be quite an issue, especially when the Marauders arrive. G As for Phoebe, read on.**

The Seer felt his presence before he spoke. She could always feel people, but she felt him with particular strength.

"Seer," a cold voice said, "has it begun yet?"

The Seer looked up, keeping her face emotionless. Exerting a great effort, she was able to force herself to barely even see the man - it was generous, though, to call him that - before her. "Yes, my Lord, the change has begun. They are discovering their powers. You've only a short time to turn them evil. The Choice is still theirs."

He smirked. "They aren't the ones I want on my side. They will become my enemies. It is how it must be."

So this man truly was insane. "Whatever you wish, my Lord."

The man looked at the Seer curiously. "You have Sight, yet you do not know the truth?"

"No, my Lord, I do not understand your plan," the Seer replied.

"You will," the man said. "In time, you will. But now you will go to them."

"I cannot leave the Underworld."

"Not as a Seer, but that won't be a problem for long," the man said.

For the first time in a very long time, the Seer feared.

* * *

Paige heard a number of thumps emanating from downstairs and decided that it would be a good idea to go check out the situation. So she closed the book and went over to the portrait. She put her hand against the back of Dumbledore's portrait, but it didn't swing open. "What the…" It was then that Paige realized why nothing was happening.

Her hand had gone _through_ the portrait. Eyes wide, Paige continued to push her hand forward and was amazed when her arm completely disappeared into the portrait. Then, suddenly, something grabbed her hand. Paige yanked her arm back.

"Let me in there, old man!" Paige heard Phoebe yell from the other side of the portrait.

"Password?" was Dumbledore's calm reply.

"Paige?" Phoebe said. "Paige, are you in there? What the hell is going on?"

Paige overcame her shock enough to attempt to open the portrait again. This time, she stayed solid and the portrait swung open.

Phoebe was frozen in shock, staring at Paige. She almost started to speak, but Paige stopped her before she could.

"I have no idea," Paige said. "So don't ask. But I think that Grams has some explaining to do." Experimentally, Paige touched Phoebe's arm. Her hand went through. "I think the incantation worked."

"What incantation?" Phoebe questioned.

"The one that Paige read from the Book of Shadows," Rowena Ravenclaw said. "Go to your grandmother. She will tell all that you must know."

Phoebe jumped. "They all talk?"

"Of course we do, Phoebe," Melinda Warren said. "Now go."

Numbly, the two sisters went down to the first floor. Prue was standing with Grams. She looked totally shell-shocked, which made Paige wonder what had happened to her. She suspected that it had something to do with the disorderly state of the living room.

"Paige, did you read from the Book?" Grams asked immediately.

Paige nervously squirmed. "What book are you talking about?" she responded, trying to keep the guilt off her face.

"The Book of Shadows," Grams said, looking like she already knew what Paige had done. She didn't seem very pleased.

"Um… Book of Shadows?" Paige pretended to think. She actually did think, but about how she was going to get out of this one. "Well, I may have seen a book similar to that. I don't know if it was the same book. The title may have been different, but I'm just not sure. Could I get back to you on this?"

Phoebe, as Paige found out, had no problem barging in on this exchange, and she certainly didn't care if Paige was going to get into trouble. "Grams, I went up to the attic and Paige's arm was sticking out of the portrait of the old man. She can turn intangible. Is she a witch?"

"If she's a witch," Prue said, "then I must be a witch too." She flicked her wrist and the newspaper flew across the room. Paige and Phoebe both gasped, but Grams didn't even blink.

"You really don't need to make a mess of the room, Prue," Grams dryly said. She then let out a long breath and withdrew a wand from her pocket. Paige's mouth dropped open and she gaped at Grams. "_Reparo,_" she said as she pointed the wand at the shattered pot of the potted plant. With a few flicks of her wand, the living room was back in order. "That's better."

"You're a witch?" Prue, Phoebe, and Paige all exclaimed.

"Yes, I am," Grams said. "And so are you three. Paige, you evidently have the power of intangibility. Of all the powers, you had to get that one." She shook her head. "Prue, you have the telekinetic ability. In addition, you all have wand magic."

"Wait, they get an extra ability, and I only get wand magic?" Phoebe said indignantly. "How's that fair?"

"You'll get your power eventually," Grams evenly said.

"What's all the commotion about?"

Piper had joined the group. Paige looked toward her and saw that she had become transfixed by the wand in Grams's hand. "Grams," Piper slowly said, "is that what I think it is?"

"Yes, this is a wand," Grams said.

"And we're witches!" Paige let her arm pass through Piper, who shrieked and jumped away.

Piper backed up until she was pressed up against the wall. "Witches?" Piper whispered, her eyes darting from Grams to Paige.

"Girls, sit down," Grams said. The sisters didn't move.

"You hid this from us?" Prue said. "Why?"

"This is very complicated," Grams said and sank into one of the chairs. "I think I'm going to need some help. _Accio Book of Shadows._" The Book of Shadows came racing by Paige and settled into Grams's arms. "Patty!"

The sisters exchanged a glance. This was a bit much. They were witches, Grams was a witch, and now Grams was calling for their dead mother?

"Grams?" Piper ventured.

Then a flurry of blue lights appeared. The lights soon faded away, and their mother, Patricia Halliwell, was revealed. Everything stopped for Paige.

"Mother, the boys driving me crazy," her mom said. "James nearly got them killed." Her eyes fell upon her daughters. "They know?"

Grams nodded tiredly.

All the emotions that Paige had ever felt in connection to her mother broke loose. Her mother, the woman Paige had never known and had always thought she would never know, was standing right in front of her. "Mom!" It was a word that was unfamiliar to Paige, yet it brought so much comfort. That comfort was taken to incredible heights once she had actually latched onto her mother, joining her sisters in a loving group hug. She, like her sisters, was crying and sobbing and laughing at the same time. Words were flowing from her mouth, relieving the pressure of all the feelings that were bubbling up inside of her. She didn't even know what she was saying, but she knew that she was expressing it all.

"Oh, my daughters, my little girls. I've missed you so much," their mom said.

This brought on a fresh wave of tears. Eventually, the tears eased to an end and the girls were left hiccupping and with blotchy faces. They still didn't let go of their mother. Phoebe even didn't seem to mind that she was touching Paige.

"How?" Prue finally asked. "I thought you were dead."

"I am dead," Patty said.

"Then how are you here?"

"I'm a whitelighter," their mother said. "I died, but it was decided that I would be able to nurture the magic of young Wiccans, witches and wizards with wandless magic. I was brought back to life."

"Why didn't you come to us?" Piper questioned.

"You didn't know about magic, and it was far too dangerous for you to be told," she explained. "I wanted to be with you, though. I've watched over you all along."

"Why was it dangerous?" Piper persisted.

"'You may destroy me, you may destroy my skin, but my magic lives on in my kin. Our powers will grow, and one day, you will see the four Charmed Ones ― the sisters and height of our Wiccan Way,'" Grams said, drawing their attention. "That's the promise that Melinda Warren made."

"And the four sisters, the Charmed Ones are you four sisters," their mother continued.

"We're the height of the Wiccan Way?" Phoebe said.

"You've been given a great destiny," Grams said. "Now we'll explain."

* * *

Lily crawled into bed feeling thoroughly defeated, and not just because of the encounter with Damazein. She was feeling a bit better about that, actually. She had quite a few potions at her disposal now, as Patty had made Black and Potter create as many potions as possible. Even though they were separated, they would at least have a fighting chance if Damazein were to show up.

No, there was something else making her feel this way. Lily just knew that something was off. Hopefully, her remote viewing would help. She relaxed as much as much as she could and closed her eyes. Lily wanted to will her power to find the source of this discomforting feeling. She had only done this sort thing once before, and that had allowed her to see through the eyes of the demon that had been plotting to get Lupin. He would have succeeded if it hadn't been for Lily. She didn't like to think about what might have happened if the demon had gotten access to Lupin's power.

Nothing happened for a long time. Lily was just about to give up when an image appeared before her eyes. She saw three girls. One was young, maybe ten or eleven. The other was a bit older, perhaps as old as Lily. The last was in her late teens.

"So as the Charmed Ones, we have fight demons, go to a wizarding school, pass the usual tests, and try enter into the wizarding world without getting killed?" the oldest girl said.

"That's basically it." Lily turned her head and saw Patty. She tried to maintain the connection, but it slipped away.

That was what had changed. The Charmed Ones had been found.

* * *

Piper tried so hard to stay up all night. She didn't want to miss out on a single moment with her mother. However, she just couldn't force her eyes to stay open. Sometime after her mother's fifth order to go to bed, Piper lost the battle against sleep. Though she had taken in a large amount of information, she did not dream of the demons and creatures that she had seen in the Book of Shadows. That was good, but they first things on her mind once she awoke the next morning.

It was late, nearly noon, when she at last awoke. The sight of her mother was the first thing to greet her. Piper grinned and was quite happy to receive a morning hug from her.

"I was afraid it was just a dream," Piper said.

"It's no dream, dear," her mother responded. "I'm here."

It was then that Piper noticed that she was in the living room. Prue was curled up in the armchair. Paige and Phoebe were lying on the couch. They were all sound asleep.

"I was going to take you all upstairs, but I figured that this was the only time Phoebe would allow Paige to be near her," Patty said.

"You know about that conflict?"

She nodded. "I've been watching you."

Piper sighed. "We're trying to make her be nicer, but she just keeps walking all over Paige. I'm afraid that magic will only make it worse. Before, she wielded words. Now she's going to have a wand?"

"Piper, lots of things are going to change for you," Patty said, "but I'm afraid that the situation between Paige and Phoebe can only be resolved by them."

Piper looked down. "Do we have to be witches?"

"It's your destiny, dear, and it's a part of your genes," Patty told her.

"But mom, I'm already an outcast," Piper said. "Why do I have to be so different?"

"You won't be different. You're going to a wizarding school. You'll be with other witches and wizards."

"I'll still be different. I'm a Charmed One. You said that the whole wizarding world knows about the Charmed Ones. We will be different." It seemed like the Charmed Ones were separate entities. Piper didn't feel like a Charmed One; she hadn't even gotten a power yet. "And what about my power? I haven't found it yet."

"You will," her mother assured her. "We could test it."

Piper looked up into her mother's eyes. "How?"

"Well, you either have the ability to see into the future or to stop time," Patty said. "Try waving your hands. That's how I freeze time."

Glumly, Piper raised her hands and waved them. Nothing happened.

"No, no. Not like that. With feeling."

Piper made a face, looked over at the clock, and tried again with the same enthusiasm, or lack of it. Abruptly, a pillow hit her. "Hey!" Another pillow hit her. "Cut it out!"

"Make me," her mother pleasantly said.

Piper put up her hands to stop the next pillow… and it froze midair. Piper gaped at it. Waving her hands again (and making sure to duck), she unfroze the pillow.

"So you do you have the power to freeze." Patty smiled.

Piper smiled despite herself. "What about the school, anyways? How can you be sure that we've been accepted?"

"The owls will come soon," Patty said, glancing out the window. "Then we'll go to Diagon Alley."

Piper still found it very odd that wizards and witches used owls to send mail. "The wizarding world is so weird."

"Well, it's magic. What did you expect?"

Piper shrugged. She then glanced at Phoebe and Paige and saw that Phoebe was stirring. As soon she had discovered that Paige was touching her, she pushed Paige away.

"Ugh! Get _off_ me, Paige!" Phoebe exclaimed.

Paige, needless to say, was quite confused by this rude awakening. However, things seem to come together when she saw their mother.

"Mum," Paige said, "you're still here."

"I'm not going anywhere." A look of utter joy overcame her as a tapping sound started. "The letters!" She jumped her feet and practically flew over to the window. She threw open the windows and four owls flew in.

"What's going on?" Prue had awoken.

"The Hogwarts letters! Here's yours, Prue, and yours, Phoebe, and here's yours, Piper. And for you Paige."

Piper studied the letter that she had been given. On the front of it, 'Miss Piper Halliwell' and her address were written in green ink. The envelope was sealed with red wax, which was stamped with a shield that bore a badger, a snake, a lion, and an eagle. She slid her fingernail under the seal, opened the envelope, and took out the letter.

_'Dear Miss Halliwell,'_ the letter read, _'we are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Due to unusual circumstances, however, you will not be joining those in your age group for your education. You may either enter into the first year, or you may be tutored. The choice is yours, but you must obtain the books and equipment listed on the enclosed page._

_'Term begins September 1, though you and your sisters must come to Hogwarts before then so that we may work out the details.' _

It was signed Minerva McGonagall, that witch who had helped to find Paige. Piper pulled out the other page and looked it over. "Where do you get this stuff?"

"Diagon Alley," Patty said. "We'll have to get all of you robes and books and wands, of course. Oh, I've been waiting for this day for so long!" She looked overjoyed.

Piper still wasn't sure how she felt about being a witch. Maybe magic would help her make the choice. _Maybe,_ she thought, _but I don't want to be so different_.

* * *

Paige was fascinated by Diagon Alley. This whole place had existed so close to her, and she had never known about it. She could tell that wizards and witches were quite good at keeping their world secret. And now Paige was a part of the secret.

"Remember, don't let anyone hear your names," Patty said.

"Do they really know our names?" Paige asked.

"Yes. Your mother and I had to use the strongest spells possible to keep them away," Grams said. "Now, let's start off with your uniform."

"Uniform?" Phoebe repeated, wrinkling her nose. "I refuse to wear a uniform."

"Hush, Phoebe. Do you want to go to Hogwarts or not?"

Phoebe didn't say anything.

"Good."

"Mum, can't we go to the bookstore first?" Piper said, looking longingly toward Flourish and Blotts, which Grams had identified as the bookstore.

"No, we should do this all together," their mother replied.

"But mum," Piper pouted.

"Don't pout," Grams said. "You're sixteen."

Paige didn't really want to get measured for robes, but she thought it was best to get it over with quickly. "After we get our uniforms, can we get our wands?"

"Of course," Grams said.

This made the sisters considerably more eager to get into the robe shop.

"Patty!" A tall, thin woman hugged Paige's mother. She had dark, long hair and gray eyes. She was quite pretty, and she had a nice manner about her. "We haven't really talked in a while."

"Yes, well it's hard to make room for small talk when I'm dealing with the gang," said Patty. "What brings you here?"

"Oh, you know James," the woman sighed. "He somehow managed to burn all his robes. He was experimenting with spells _again_."

"I understand," their mother said. "I don't believe you've met my daughters. This is Paige, Prue, Phoebe, and Piper. Girls, this is a good friend of mine, Mrs. Faith Potter."

Paige immediately knew that her mother trusted this woman, or she wouldn't have told her their names.

Mrs. Potter blinked. "The Charmed Ones?"

"Yes, they're finally entering into the wizarding world."

"My, it's such an honor to meet you," Mrs. Potter said. "You've come at just the right time."

Grams cleared her throat.

Mrs. Potter apparently understood Grams's message. "Well, good luck with Hogwarts."

The shop owner then appeared. "Sorry to keep you waiting," she apologized. "Hogwarts, right?" She stared at Piper, Phoebe, and Prue. "And you, dears?"

"They're Hogwarts too," their mother said. "They need replacement robes."

"Ah. Well, this way." The woman led the four sisters to the back, and the measurements began. There was a slight problem, though, when the woman started to work on Paige. Paige was not used to her intangibility, and the excitement of being in Diagon Alley was just making it worse. Because of that, her arm went through the robe, startling the woman.

"Oh, don't worry about that," Prue said hurriedly. "That's just from some joke candy she ate. She'll be fine in a minute."

Paige was immensely grateful for Prue's quick thinking as well as her attention to detail - magical candy had been briefly mentioned during their mother's explanation, along with a warning that swift punishment would come to those who used joke candy.

Soon enough, they had their robes and were on their way to Ollivanders for their wands. Paige was most eager and got into the shop before her sisters. The shop was very strange. There was something about it that made Paige feel out of place and uncomfortable.

"Paige Halliwell. Here at last."

Paige wasn't sure what surprised her more ― the man' sudden appearance or his use of her name. "How did you know my name?"

"I've been waiting quite a while for you, Paige," the man, who Paige assumed to be Mr. Ollivander, said.

Everyone else caught up with Paige, interrupting the strange conversation. The man leisurely looked over the new arrivals. "Patricia. Fourteen inches. Oak. Nice and firm."

"You still remember."

"I never forget," Mr. Ollivander said. "Now, let's see about you, Prudence." He brought out a tape measurer. "Hold out your wand arm."

Prue glanced at their mother, then slowly raised her right arm. That was either from uncertainty or a desire to keep her telekinesis from working. The tape measurer began to measure her, and Mr. Ollivander started to shift through the small boxes that filled he shelves of the shop.

"All right, move on," Mr. Ollivander said once he had gathered a few boxes.

The tape measurer moved onto Piper.

"Try this one, Prudence," Mr. Ollivander said, holding out a wand. "Mahogany. Seven inches. Dragon heartstring core."

Prue took the wand. "Um… what do I do with it?"

"Give it a wave."

Prue waved it. Nothing happened.

"Hmm… I guess not." He picked up another wand. "Rosewood. Eleven inches. Phoenix feather core."

Prue again took the wand and waved it. This time, a large quantity of light erupted from the wand. It soon disappeared.

"Perfect!" Mr. Ollivander moved onto Piper. "I think I have just the wand for you." He picked out a wand and gave it to Piper. "Holly. Nine inches. A single unicorn hair."

Piper, with doubt written all over her face, waved the wand. Rose petals began to rain down on her, disappearing just before they could touch her.

"Excellent!"

Piper finally cracked a smile.

"Now for you, Phoebe." He again shifted through the boxes and picked three wands. "Let's try this one first. Ebony. Nine inches. Dragon heartstring."

Phoebe took it and waved it. Nothing happened.

"Then let's try this one. Beachwood and phoenix feather. Ten and a half inches."

Phoebe tried that one, but again nothing happened. She went through another five wands before she got to the thirteen-inch willow wand with a unicorn hair. When she waved that wand, a dove appeared and flew around for a bit before it disappeared.

"Ah, there we are!"

Now it was Paige's turn to get a wand. Mr. Ollivander looked through the wands again and found one that he apparently liked.

"Try this," he said. "Maple and eight inches, dragon heartstring."

Though her sisters had also done this, Paige couldn't help but feel rather silly when she waved the wand and nothing happened.

"No, not that one." Mr. Ollivander got out a second wand. "Holly and―" He then noticed another wand. "Now where did this come from?" he murmured. "Oak, ten inches, and hair of a… no, that can't be right." He shook his head. "What possessed me to make this?" He studied Paige. "Well, it's worth a try." He handed Paige the wand.

She waved it, and she instantly knew that it was right. She didn't know how she knew; she just knew. Of course, the sparks of light that burst from the wand also clued her in.

"Interesting. I suppose that's why I made it," Mr. Ollivander said. "Yes… Oak, ten inches, and hair of a wood nymph. That wand is definitely yours, Paige."

Paige couldn't help but feel more complete now that she had her wand. The feeling didn't fade after their mother paid for the wands and they left the shop.

"Next, we'll get your books," Grams said.

"POTTER! LOOK OUT!"

Paige turned just in time to see a ball of fire heading for a dark-haired teenage boy.

**A/N: I just had to include the holly for Piper and the wood nymph wand for Paige**

**Oh, I'd like to know what pairings y'all want. Even though I love P/L, I'm kind of iffy about doing it here because Piper's sixteen and Leo's, like, really old, though it's possible to convince me. Also, what houses do you want me to put the sisters into? I'm not quite sure, so it's up to you to decide.**


	5. Just the Charmed Ones

**A/N: I do lurid thanky dance at my reviewers. I have decided on tentative pairings. This story might include a bit o': Phoebe/James, Phoebe/Severus, Prue/Regulus (his age is changing), and Lily/James. Piper will have crushes, but I'm not sure that she'll get seriously involved with anyone. We'll see what happens.**

**Egastin77: thank you. Your house choices have actually inspired a new twist, which you will see in the next chapter.**

**Red-Rumm: I loved writing those pairings the first time, but I'm really not a shipper, so I hate doing the same pairing many times. However, I appreciate the suggestion. Thanks!**

**Faith Kingsley: wow. Thank you so much. I'm blushing.**

**Charmedsisters: thanks. Here's more.**

**Andy20: here's what happens to Potter…**

**Animalzoo: thank you! I'm definitely going to have fun in the Potterverse… I keep waiting for JKR to come and slap me.**

"POTTER! LOOK OUT!"

Prue whipped around. She took in the situation instantly and acted just as quickly. She didn't quite know how she was able to respond so quickly, but she raised her hand and sent the ball of fire back at the one who had released it. The fireball dissolved on impact. Next, Piper acted. She flicked her fingers. The… man? Wizard? Demon? Whatever he was, he only froze for a few seconds.

"The Charmed Ones!" the whatever exclaimed.

Prue and Grams both used their telekinesis to send the whatever flying back. The next instant, he was upon them. _Must be a demon,_ Prue decided.

The demon reached out his hand. A strange, unwelcome feeling began to fill Prue. She couldn't seem to will herself to move…

"Hey!" The voice Prue had heard earlier again sounded. A small bottle flew at the demon. The demon exploded into flames, but it wasn't dying. It was coming back…

Another bottle hit the demon, and the demon exploded. It was finally gone.

Next, whispers began. Their mother waved her hands, freezing the crowd. "Bloody hell," she muttered under breath. She then marched up to the dark-haired boy. Prue and her sisters cautiously followed. "James, are you hurt?"

James shook his head. "I'm fine." He was staring at Prue. She probably would have felt uncomfortable if she hadn't just faced a demon.

"How about you three?"

Suddenly, Prue noticed that four people were unfrozen. One was the one called James. The next was a young girl with fiery red hair and piercing green eyes. A young man stood next to her. He had light brown hair, and he was rather thin. The last boy was quite attractive, with dark hair and dark eyes. The group looked to be around Piper's age or Phoebe's age. Prue noted that Phoebe checked out all three boys. Her big sister alarm went off. These boys were trouble; she knew it.

"We're fine," the redheaded girl said briskly. Her eyes wandered over Prue and her sisters. "You're the Charmed Ones?"

"Yes," Prue responded. "Are you four my mother's charges?"

The four slowly nodded their heads.

"Girls, this is James Potter, Lily Evans, Remus Lupin, and Sirius Black," Patty introduced them. "And… these are my daughters, Prue, Phoebe, Piper, and Paige."

"Wonderful to meet you," Phoebe practically purred, staring into the hazel eyes of James.

Prue narrowed her eyes. "Yes, it's a pleasure to meet you." She placed her hand on Phoebe's shoulder and squeezed it. Phoebe shrugged her hand off. "Mother, that was a demon, right?"

"Wait, you don't about the wizarding world?" Remus said.

"We know some things," Prue said.

"That was a demon," Patty said. "His name was Damazein."

A new sensation overtook Prue. It felt like someone was… looking into her. Prue pushed the feeling away and found her eyes being drawn to Sirius.

"Patty, why did you fail to mention that your daughters, the Charmed Ones, were joining the wizarding world?" Sirius questioned. His eyes were still locked with Prue's. Prue wasn't exactly sure if this was a power struggle or not.

"I didn't feel that it was necessary for you to know," Patty replied.

Prue tore her eyes away from Sirius's. "Okay, bigger problem at hand," Prue interrupted. "As soon as these people unfreeze, they are going to go berserk. I doubt that we'll be able to finish our shopping."

"I'll distract them," Grams said. "You get into the next store."

Paige raised her eyebrow. "Uh, aren't you being a little dramatic? We're just the Charmed Ones."

"Just the Charmed Ones?" James sputtered. "You don't even understand how famous you are."

"But nobody ever even saw us," Paige said.

Grams made a derisive noise. "Actually, the spells didn't always hold out. They got a few interviews with us… and a few pictures of you."

"Can we just get this over with?" Piper asked.

"Of course." Their mother led them into the bookstore. Grimacing slightly, she flicked her fingers. The chaos began.

* * *

Somehow, they were able to complete their shopping without getting caught by the media. 

"I believe," Piper declared, as they appeared back home, "that that was a remarkable feat. We should be in history books or something."

"You are," Grams said.

"Oh," Piper said. "Can we see those books?"

Paige shook her head. "I'm shocked, Piper, that you would actually look at a history book when you have a whole new set of _magic_ books." She was holding a cat in her arms. Paige had begged Patty to buy the beautiful queen. Their mother had given in. The cat's name was Kit, a name that Prue had suggested.

Prue had also gotten a pet, but she had gone for practicality instead of mere companionship. She now had a gray owl that she called Reine. Reine, creepily, was eyeing Phoebe in the same way that Prue was eyeing her. Prue obviously had noticed how she had acted around James, Sirius, and Remus. Phoebe didn't care. She wanted one of them, and she was going to get one. "Mom, can you tell me more about James, Sirius, and Remus?" Phoebe asked, her voice dripping with sugary sweetness. Summoning that voice was one her many talents.

"The only thing that I'm going to tell you about them is that you're not allowed to get involved with them," Patty said.

That was the exact reaction Phoebe had been hoping for. She loved getting involved with guys that were forbidden. "Why not?"

"They are trouble."

Mm, just the way she liked them. "They're your charges," Phoebe countered.

"And that means I know a lot about them."

"But—"

"Phoebe."

"Fine. I won't touch them, I promise."

Everyone knew that she wasn't telling the truth, but they didn't seem in the mood to argue with her. That was a good thing, because Phoebe wasn't in the mood to defend herself. "So… when are we going to Hogwarts?" she asked, hoping that that would get their minds off the three boys.

"We're going tomorrow," their mother said. "You'll have to pack tonight."

Once again, Phoebe was stuck by the magnitude of the situation. This caught Phoebe off-guard and completely wiped away the thoughts about snagging a guy. She was going to a wizarding school, and her mother was back. Her mother was back in her life. She never had to cry for her mother again. Elation overcame Phoebe, and for a few moments, everything was right in the world.

But then Phoebe saw Paige. Paige, she was certain, would ruin everything. She didn't know how, but Paige was going to take away her mother. _Her_ mother. She wasn't Paige's mother, and Paige didn't deserve to be near her.

Wait… Phoebe had a wand. Just what was this wand capable of?

"So you girls should go upstairs and start packing," Grams said. "Your mother and I will make dinner. And don't even think of using your wands." She gave Phoebe a significant look.

"I could help make dinner," Piper offered. "We… we all could."

"No, that's not necessary, dear," their mother responded. "Now go and pack."

Slowly, the sisters carried their loads up the stairs and to their rooms. Paige stopped at her door, putting her packages on the floor. "If my arms can become intangible," Phoebe heard her mutter, "then my whole body must be able."

Phoebe watched as Paige took a deep breath, then stepped forward and walked through the door. It had worked quite well, except for the fact that Paige had left her clothes behind. _Ah, that's why Grams wasn't too happy about Paige getting that power._

A few minutes later, Paige sheepishly emerged from her bedroom wearing her bathrobe. She gathered up her clothes, avoiding Phoebe's gaze.

"Nice job, Paige," Phoebe said and turned to enter her own room.

All of a sudden, images began to play before Phoebe's eyes. She could see that Lily girl fighting with a hooded figure. The hooded figure called out words that Phoebe didn't understand, and a jet of green light erupted from the end of his wand. It hit Lily…

"Phoebe, are you all right?"

Phoebe saw Paige's face, and she knew it was all over. "I—I think so," she stammered. "But Lily is in danger." Phoebe stepped over the packages she had dropped and raced down the stairs to the kitchen. "Mom! Lily is in danger. I had a vision of her fighting this—this hooded figure, and this jet of green light hit her… You need to go to her."

Her mother looked surprised, but Phoebe didn't think it was her vision that was causing this surprise. Phoebe was being concerned about someone other than herself, after all. "You had your first vision?"

"Yes! Take me with you. I can help."

"No, stay with Grams," her mother said. She orbed out, and Phoebe grabbed onto her. She felt Grams trying to tug her back, but she held on.

They landed in a living room. Phoebe assumed that they were in Lily's home. She was relieved to see Lily safely sitting on the couch.

Before her mother could even say anything, Phoebe ran over and grabbed Lily's hand. "Lily, you're in danger," she said and pulled Lily up.

"What—"

"There's no time to talk," Phoebe said. "This is where it happened."

"You shouldn't have come, Phoebe," her mother said as she withdrew her wand.

"Well I did."

There was a loud _CRACK_ and the robed figure appeared in the room. Lily got out her wand, but Phoebe dragged her out of the room. Phoebe's mother sealed the doorway to the living room.

Then, Phoebe was being orbed away. She kept a tight grip on Lily's hand. She didn't let go until they had appeared next to Grams.

"What happened?" Lily questioned.

"I had a vision of you being attacked," Phoebe said. "Grams, is mom going to be okay?"

"Of course. She can't die again," Grams said. "Lily, was it a Death Eater?"

Lily nodded. "Why would a Death Eater be interested in me?"

"I'm not sure."

"What's a Death Eater?" Phoebe asked.

"That's for later," the voice her mother responded.

Phoebe turned around. She was relieved to see that her mother was perfectly fine. "Mom, you're all right."

"Yes, I am. Lily, I'm afraid that you're going to have to stay at the Potter home along with the boys," her mother said.

Lily made a face. "Can't I just face the Death Eater?"

"You know that the Potter home is the most well-protected place possible," Grams said. Phoebe found it odd that Grams was so involved in this. "The Nexus is there, and—"

"I know," Lily sighed. "Let's go." Before she was orbed out, she said, "Thanks, Phoebe."

"No problem."

As strange as it was, Phoebe couldn't help but feel really proud of herself.

* * *

It was a beautiful morning—early, but still beautiful. With all the activity, Grams had found herself unable to sleep until a decent hour. Unfortunately, another individual had found himself in the same situation. Grams had chosen to work on potions, but he had chosen to bother her. 

"No," Grams said, vigorously shaking her head. "No way. Absolutely not. I refuse."

"Penny," Dumbledore said, "we need you. Hogwarts needs you."

Grams glared at him. "Albus, what have you been doing all summer? Sitting on your lazy arse?"

"Rarely. I have been searching for a new Potions teacher. I did find one, but there were complications."

Grams eyed Dumbledore suspiciously. "Complications? Would these be related to Voldemort?"

"Not precisely. Please, Penny."

Grams scooped up some of the potion and bottled it. "Do I have to spell it out for you, Albus?" She waved her wand and a chalkboard appeared. A piece of chalk rose up and wrote 'N… O!!' on the board. "I tried the teaching gig before. You remember how that ended."

Grams noted how the edges of Dumbledore's mouth twitched slightly. She would not hesitate to hit him if he so much as smiled. "That student is no longer there."

"Ha! There are other Leo Wyatts still in Hogwarts, namely James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter. Patty has told me all about them."

"They are under control," Dumbledore replied.

"Albus, my granddaughters are going to Hogwarts. I don't want to be anywhere near _that_."

Dumbledore just looked at her.

Grams struggled within herself. "Oh, stop giving me those eyes!" she barked. She then sighed in defeat. "Just so you know, I hate you. I absolutely hate you."

* * *

"Wake up, wake up, wake up!" 

The first sight of the day for Piper was Paige's grinning face. "Paige, what are you doing?"

"Waking you up. Now get up and get dressed."

"Hey, I locked my door just so you couldn't do this," Piper said.

"Intangibility, remember?"

"Oh, right." Piper then noticed that Paige was wearing a shirt that was much too big for her. "Why are you wearing my shirt?"

"Because when my whole body turns intangible, the heavier clothes that I'm wearing are… well, left behind. I'll have to work on it," Paige said.

"I'd say so. Okay, I'm up, and I promise I'll get dressed, so go on," Piper said.

Paige turned and left.

Piper sat in bed for a while, just thinking about what they were going to do that day. She was going to Hogwarts, a magic school. She didn't know how to feel about that. She had seen magic at work—both good and bad magic. Being magical meant facing demons like Damazein. She and her sisters hadn't done too well against him. And yet, it seemed that she had natural instincts for magic. With proper training, maybe she would even stand a chance against the forces of the Underworld.

Optimism was a difficult thing to keep up, but it was better than thinking about how different she was going to be… how different she already was.

"Miss Halliwell!" a muffled voice called out. That was followed by the sound of frantic tapping at her window.

Piper looked up and gasped. Then she was blinded by the flash of a camera. Flicking her fingers, she blinked and tried to regain her sight. Slowly, everything came back into focus, including the frozen man at the window.

There were several things wrong with this picture. For one, Piper's bedroom was on the second floor. For another, the man did not have ladder. He had a broom. He was riding a _broom_. And most importantly, she was in her pajamas and he was taking pictures of her! "Pervert!"

Piper got up and closed the curtains. Now, what was she going to do about the pervert at her window? She had no idea, so she ran out of her bedroom and slammed into Prue. They then formed a pile-up as Phoebe ran into Piper, causing them to all fall down, and Paige tripped over them.

As they lay dazed on the ground, the door to the attic stairs opened and Grams came out.

"Ouch," Piper said as she sat up. "Sorry, Prue."

They all got up, feeling a bit tender.

"Grams, there's a woman on a broom outside my window. She was taking pictures of me when I woke up," Prue said.

"You too?" Phoebe said.

"Wait, you've got one?" Piper questioned.

"I do too," Paige said.

"What?" Grams yelped. "How dare they! Don't worry, girls, I'll go get rid of them." She had what Paige had dubbed 'The Look' on her face. Piper knew that those people were really going to get it. Grams took out her wand and stomped down the stairs.

"Who are they?" Piper wondered.

"They're reporters," Prue replied.

"How do you know?"

"Well, we were just exposed yesterday," Prue said. "I imagine that word has gotten around by now."

Shouting erupted from downstairs as Grams opened the door.

"YOU PEOPLE MAKE ME SICK!" Grams howled. "YOU LEAVE MY GRANDDAUGHTERS ALONE! AND ANOTHER THING…" The door shut, and the girls burst into giggles.

"I think they're going to regret ever coming here," Phoebe commented. She was smiling, not scowling, and she actually looked happy.

"Definitely," Paige said.

And Phoebe didn't glare at her for speaking.

Piper and Prue shared a glance. Phoebe was in a good mood? This was an incredibly rare thing, and they both knew that they had to savor it while it lasted. The last time Phoebe had been in a good mood, she had given Paige hug and had helped her with her 'boo-boo'. That had happened when Phoebe was ten.

Yes, this was very, very rare.

"Do you think it's safe to get dressed?" Piper asked.

"I'll make it safe," Prue said. "When I saw that woman, I put a block-out spell on my window. I'll do it for your windows now."

"You know a spell?" Phoebe incredulously asked.

"Yeah. I was reading on of the books last night and I stumbled upon it," Prue replied. She opened the door to Piper's room and pointed her wand at the window. "_Obsidionem solvere_." All sunlight was suddenly shut out.

"Thanks, Prue." Closing the door, Piper thoroughly studied the blackened window before she felt safe enough to get ready. Magic, it seemed, did have some usefulness.

* * *

Before she knew it, Paige was downstairs with Kit on her lap and her sisters sitting next to her. Grams had gotten rid of the reporters, and they were waiting their mother to come back from speaking with the Elders. The Elders, Paige had learned, were the ones who kept the world in order. They were the ultimate guardians of magic… or something like that. 

_Mom certainly is taking her time,_ Paige thought as she again glanced at the clock. Absentmindedly, Paige stroked Kit's soft fur. Kit purred contentedly, softly kneading Paige's jeans.

At last, their mother appeared in the room. "Hello, girls. I see you're ready to go." She looked tired, and her eyes were clouded with worry. Paige still wasn't sure about what had happened, but she knew that it involved Phoebe's vision about Lily. Phoebe knew all about what had happened, but Paige didn't dare ask her about what happened, even though Phoebe seemed to be in a good mood.

"Mom, are you sure that you're going to be able to orb all of us plus our stuff?" Piper questioned, looking at all the things that they had to bring along.

"I'm going to make two trips," their mother said. "I'll drop you off first."

"But you're going to be with us, right?" Paige asked. As excited as she was about entering the wizarding world, she was still a little nervous. She knew that she was going to face McGonagall again. That was enough to put a damper on her enthusiasm.

"I wish that I could, but I have report back to the Elders as soon as you're there. Professor McGonagall will be there, so don't worry. Let's go."

Paige stood up. With one hand, she touched Piper, and with the other, she held onto Kit. The sensation of orbing started. While orbing was much better than portkeys, it still made Paige feel strange, especially once it stopped. Paige was left with that weird, tingly feeling when she discovered that they were now in what appeared to be a castle.

"Here we are," their mother said. "This, girls, is Hogwarts. I'll be right back with your things." She orbed out, leaving them alone in the castle. The castle was quiet and, as far as they could tell, rather plain. The only hint of decoration was an ugly stone gargoyle in front of them.

"Interesting touch," Prue murmured.

Suddenly, Kit squirmed out of Paige's arms and trotted down the hall. "Kit!" Paige went after her. Though Kit was going at a slow pace, Paige didn't pick her up, for Kit had just sat down in front of Professor McGonagall. "Professor, hi."

"Ah, you've arrived," Professor McGonagall said, looking to Paige's sisters. "I am Professor McGonagall. I am the Transfiguration teacher here at Hogwarts. Your mother is dropping off your belongings in your temporary living quarters. She'll be along in a moment." She looked back to Paige. "I'll take your cat where she needs to be, Paige." McGonagall scooped up Kit as the familiar blue light appeared.

"Okay, girls, you're all set," their mother said. "I'm going to see you often, but for now…" She hugged each one of them. Paige tried not to feel sad, but a little sadness still sneaked in.

"Bye, mom," Paige said as she was hugged. "I love you."

"I love you too, Paige." She backed up and looked them over. "Behave yourselves. I'll see you soon. Oh, I almost forgot." She went over to the gargoyle and said, "Tootsie rolls." To Paige's amazement, the gargoyle came to life and jumped to the side. The wall behind it opened up to reveal a spiral staircase. The staircase was moving, like an escalator.

"Go ahead, girls," their mother encouraged them.

The sisters stepped onto the escalator, and the wall closed behind them.

**A/N: review or you call on the absolute horror… of the vicious spite jig. Are you really brave enough to risk THAT??**


	6. Song and Sorting by Chance

**A/N: I didn't think anyone would want to risk the jig. Okay, my reviewers, you have won the right tomolest the HP or Charmed character of your choice. Have fun!**

**Faith Kingsley: thank you. Here's more.**

**Andy20: thank you! **

**Animalzoo: I'm slow with the updates, but here's a new chappie!**

**Egastin77: at last, I have updated. Thank you for reviewing.**

**Masha malfoy: thanks for reviewing. Sadly, it is winter in WNY, so I've given much time to shoveling. But I've finally forced myself to sit down and update.**

"What do you think, Seer?" Lord Voldemort asked, placing his hands on the Seer's shoulders. She wanted very much to move out of his grasp, but she didn't dare.

"It is… perfect for the purposes," the Seer answered. She stared into the mirror, examining her new appearance. She had acquired a new body; she was now a human teenage girl. How revolting. "Where did you get it, my Lord?"

"One of my followers is a conjurer," Lord Voldemort said.

"And Hogwarts?"

"That has been arranged. You moved here from Boston. You went to the magic school in Salem, and you were a good student. Here is your wand, my dear."

The Seer suddenly experienced something very odd. She felt so good as she took the wand. "I can feel," she said. "I think I feel happy."

"Ah, feelings. An unfortunate part of the transfer."

The Seer frowned. "There are many details to be ironed out. Human lives are very complicated."

"All the details—your name, your age, your opinions on current events—can be found in the envelope. Learn your part well, Seer. If you fail me…"

"I'll be dead."

"I'm glad to see that we have an understanding." He disappeared, leaving the Seer to discover who she was to become.

* * *

Lily awoke gradually. Surprisingly, she had slept like the dead. That wasn't a good thing. It made her suddenly nervous, so she opened her eyes and examined her surroundings. Nothing in the guest room seemed out of order, but James Potter was only a few rooms away from her. Had he done something? 

Lily sighed. This was ridiculous. She feared what Potter could do more than she feared what a Death Eater could do. But her nervousness was going to get her nowhere. She was too stressed to worry about the Marauders and their childish pranks.

Oh, Merlin, wait—she had to take a shower. Such an ordinary thing would seem rather trivial to any outsider, but showering meant her being naked in Potter's house. Well, she would just go and tell the boys that if they tried to peek on her, she would hex them to the Underworld.

No, that wouldn't work at all. She couldn't announce to them that she was going to take a shower. But they knew that she was going to take a shower. It was her absolute ritual, and Lily never changed the ritual.

To hell with it all. She had done this before… with Mrs. Potter posted as a guard at the door. She wasn't going to bother Mrs. Potter this time, but she was going to take a damn shower.

Feeling a bit more self-assured, Lily picked her outfit for the day. This, sadly, was her home-away-from-home, and so she basically had her own room. It seemed that every other day, she was trapped in this house. Bloody pathetic.

She opened the door and peeked out into the hall. No surprise attack was waiting for her, as far as she could tell, so she quietly went into the bathroom, locking the door behind her. Lily made a cursory check over the bathroom and found that everything was in order. Dropping her caution, she peeled off her clothes and hopped into the shower.

The hot water felt wonderful on her tension-tightened body, but it couldn't take away her thoughts of yesterday. She was being hunted by a Death Eater. Voldemort had an interest in her, but why? True, she did have Wiccan powers, but only remote viewing. Was Voldemort worried that she would see from his view? She had never been able to; her powers weren't that strong. Perhaps he was just being cautious.

Or perhaps this had to do with the Charmed Ones. If she and the Marauders ganged up with the Charmed Ones, they would create a huge power. It would be a temptation for demons and a threat to Voldemort. It had to just be self-preservation.

Lily didn't like this. There was something off about all this.

Suddenly, Lily experienced something that she very rarely experienced: vision remote viewing. Usually, she willed her power to work, but sometimes her power worked on its own. She could see herself showering. And then, she heard Potter's voice.

"Nice spell, Sirius."

She went back to her view. Immediately, she jumped out of the shower. She wrapped a towel around her body, and, thinking only of her rage, grabbed her wand and ran out of the bathroom and to Potter's room.

Though she was not supposed to use her wand for everyday things, she used it to blast the door open. Potter and Black were cowering in the corner.

"I just don't understand you, Potter," Lily said, sounding much calmer than she felt. "I don't understand why you do these things. You can't seem to make up your simple mind. Do you want to woo me, or do you want to prank me?"

Potter apparently saw this as an invitation to become Mr. Suave. "You know, you can end all this if you just admit that you like me."

Lily decided to cut to the chase. "_Karmic justice, I demand, karmic_—"

"Merlin, what did they do now?" Lily heard Lupin say from behind her.

"They decided it would be fun to take a look at me while I was showering," Lily said. "Now, I'm going to pay them back."

"In my defense," Black said, "I only gave James the spell. I—"

Suddenly, something crashed onto Potter's bed. That was followed by the sound of thickly muttered curses. Lily automatically turned her wand toward the bed. They all cautiously approached.

"I knew you couldn't combine orbing and portkeys," a girl's voice said. She had an American accent. As Lily drew closer, she saw that the girl was wearing the usual teenage garb of jeans and a T-shirt. She sat up and suddenly noticed them. "Oh! Oh, I am so sorry." She stood up off the bed, smiling a little. "There was a bit of mix-up, I think. Unless you're my cousins…" She looked at them hopefully. "No? Well, I—"

"Where's your wand?"

"It's in my pocket," the girl said, reaching for it.

"Stop right there," Lily said. Potter retrieved the wand out of the girl's back pocket.

"Um, maybe I should just leave." She looked toward the exit.

"I don't think so," Lily said. "What's your name?"

"Rhiannon Williams," the girl said.

"Well, Rhiannon, you're not going anywhere until you tell us how you got here," Black said. If he was trying to be intimidating, the fact that he was staring at her chest kind of cancelled the effect.

"Portkey gone awry," Rhiannon said.

"That's not possible. Patty!" Potter called.

Rhiannon sat back down on the bed. "Never trust a playing card portkey," she muttered miserably.

* * *

After a while, the sisters finally reached the door at the end of the escalator. Before them was a door with a brass knocker that was shaped like a griffin. They stepped off the escalator, and Prue was the one to reach out and knock. The door opened without a sound, and the Halliwell sisters stepped into the empty room. 

Though the room was devoid of human life, it was filled with a fascinating assortment of strange gadgets. Wonderings about their purposes filled Piper's mind as she looked at them, but her focus shifted when one of the portraits on the wall moved and began to talk to them.

"Well, hello there," one of the portraits said. "Dumbledore will be here in a moment."

Phoebe and Paige were unfazed by this, but she and Prue were a bit unsettled.

"You're students here, correct?" the man in the portrait said.

"We're going to be," Paige replied. "I'm Paige Halliwell. These are my sisters: Prue, Piper, and Phoebe."

"You're _the_ Halliwell sisters?" the man incredulously said.

"Yes, they are."

Piper was again astounded. There was the old man from the painting in their attic. "Mr. Dumbledore… sir?"

Dumbledore nodded. "It's a pleasure to meet you girls face to face. Please, sit."

They sat down.

"So you're finally here at Hogwarts," Dumbledore said. "You should have been here before, but at least you're here now."

"If you don't mind us asking, sir, why didn't we come here before?" Prue asked.

"Your grandmother wanted you to be blocked from your powers until you had grown up. She was afraid that you would not be able to handle magic as teenagers. However, we can't wait any longer."

"Why is that, sir?" Phoebe asked. Piper was surprised at this show of respect. Magic was bringing out a whole new side of Phoebe, it seemed.

"There are certain dark forces arising in the wizarding world," Dumbledore said.

"Like Death Eaters?" Phoebe said.

"Indeed. Death Eaters are the followers of a wizard known as Voldemort. He is technically a warlock. He poses a great threat to the order of our world. But you will explore that in more detail later with your whitelighter."

"You mean our mom?" Paige questioned.

"No," Dumbledore answered. "I'm afraid that the Elders do not believe that your mother can handle so many charges. They've assigned you another whitelighter. You will still see your mother, of course, but you will also be able to call upon your other whitelighter. That is a part of the issue that we are here to discuss. We need to talk about your choices."

Piper knew that he was talking about their choosing whether they were going to attend classes or be tutored.

"Um, sir, who will tutor us?" she asked.

"Leo Wyatt, your whitelighter."

Piper wasn't going to take a chance on someone she had never met. In classes, she could just try to be invisible to everyone else. She couldn't do that with tutoring.

"Have you decided whether you will take classes or be tutored?"

The sisters nodded.

"Very well then. Paige?"

"Well, I might as well just take the classes," Paige said.

"Phoebe?"

"Classes," Phoebe said.

"Piper?"

"Classes."

"Prue?"

"Talk about peer-pressure," Prue muttered. "Um, I guess I'll take the classes, then."

"Excellent. I was hoping you would take the classes. You'll get a better-rounded education that way. Professor McGonagall is waiting for you. She'll show you to your room. Next week, you will be sorted, and classes will begin."

"Sorted?" Piper said.

"Oh, I didn't tell you? Well, there are four houses in Hogwarts: Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. You'll hear plenty of gossip about the houses, but please keep in mind that those who established the houses were friends, not enemies." He paused. "You go ahead and get settled in, then."

They left the office. Piper thought of Dumbledore's odd statement as they rode the escalator down. Hogwarts was turning out to be a very mysterious place.

* * *

"Wait a minute," James said, looking at Patty doubtfully. "You're saying that it is possible? How?" 

The whitelighter, Sirius could see, was only half-listening to him. She was more concerned about the shivering redhead. "Lily, perhaps you should go get dressed."

"Not until you explain."

She was such a stubborn girl. In that respect, she was perfectly suited for James. He was so used to girls throwing themselves at his feet. A stubborn, able girl like Lily was just the right balance to James and his ego. However, that was also what prolonged the chase. James wasn't going to give up until Lily gave in. Sirius was going to be quite relieved when they finally hooked up. He was so sick of hearing James go on and on about her.

"You know that this house is only protected against evil transport," Patty said. "Shimmering, blinking… But orbing, properly wired portkeys, and apparition can be used on these grounds."

"Oh, I assure you that this was not properly wired," Rhiannon piped up.

"Yes, I noticed that. Who did you say wired that?"

"A whitelighter. Luke Jones," Rhiannon said. "He tried to combine orbing with a portkey, and it didn't work."

"Luke Jones? You're related to Diana Williams?" Patty said.

"Yes."

Sirius was having a hard time with this girl. It was like when he had tried to read Prue's mind. She was blocking him, whether she knew it or not. If she was a Wiccan witch, then that would explain it.

"Oh. I'm sorry for your loss. Diana was an amazing witch."

Rhiannon looked down. "Thank you."

"Where were you trying to go?" Patty asked.

"My uncle's house. I'll just call Luke. Luke!"

A man appeared in a swirl of blue-white orbs. "Rhiannon, I lost you for a minute."

"More than a minute. I crashed in this family's home. I'm just lucky they weren't muggles."

"Sorry, Ray." The man acknowledged Patty with a nod, then he orbed out with Rhiannon.

Sirius had a feeling that he hadn't seen the last of Rhiannon Williams.

* * *

The next week was fairly dull. The sisters were given the freedom to wander the grounds and most of the castle, but it turned out that Hogwarts wasn't as interesting as Paige had thought it would be. Each day of that week, they ate their meals in the Great Hall and spent their spare time wandering and reading their magic books. They were given a guardian—a ghost named Sir Nicholas. Paige found his presence to be enjoyable enough, but she didn't like it when his head shifted. 

They quickly found out that Hagrid lived in a hut on the grounds. Paige introduced her sisters to him, and they all became quite attached to him. He introduced them to a few of his 'pets', most of whom lived in the Dark Forest. Paige found them fascinating, but her sisters didn't quite like them as much as she did.

Finally, _finally_ the day came. September first arrived, bringing with it a deluge of students. Paige and her sisters weren't supposed to mingle with the students, but they gave McGonagall the slip and joined the students to hear all the gossip. One nicely informed student told them all about the four houses.

Hufflepuff, apparently, was the house for the wimps and nobodies. It seemed that it was the house that took all the students that didn't really have strong personalities. Slytherin seemed the worst. It was for the future evil witches and wizards. Ravenclaw was for all the brainy people. Gryffindor was the one that Paige wanted to be in. It was for the brave and true… the future leaders.

When the time came, Paige and her sisters went back to where they were supposed to be. They were going to be the 'surprise guests', it seemed. Their place of honor was outside the doors to the Great Hall.

"We don't even get hear the introduction?" Paige said to McGonagall, feeling quite disappointed.

"That's how it must be. Now stay here. The doors will open when you are to come in," McGonagall said and slipped into the Great Hall.

"This sucks," Paige complained.

"Ah, but magic can help," Piper said, slipping out her wand. She pointed it at the door and said, "_Sermonis auceps_."

The sounds of the Great Hall began to leak out.

"Now," Dumbledore was saying, "I know that you have all heard about the increase in demonic attacks, but there will be no need to worry about that. Hogwarts is perfectly protected from the forces of darkness. You are all safe here as long as you stay within the proper boundaries."

"How come he didn't say anything about that Voldeguy?" Paige wondered.

"I don't think everyone knows about him," Prue replied.

"And now, without further ado, the sorting will begin."

All of a sudden, there was a burst of song.

_"Many, many years ago,_

_When I was newly sewn, _

_Hogwarts was barely founded,_

_The magic had just been grown._

_The four dear founders gathered here,_

_And let their wills be known._

_Now Ravenclaw, the wisest one,_

_Had only this to say:_

_'Those of knowledge I will take_

_And show them my own way.'_

_But Gryffindor, the bravest one,_

_Was led to disagree._

_'We'll take wizards of valor_

_And witches of honor strictly.'_

_Hufflepuff too saw things _

_In a different light._

_'We should accept all,' she said_

_And urged them to end this fight._

_Slytherin could not consent,_

_And he said to his friends,_

_'We'll take those pure of blood._

_Now here the conflict ends.'_

_Alas, they could not agree,_

_So four houses they created,_

_Each in their own ideals._

_Only then were they all sated._

_But for them death grew near._

_Who, they asked, would uphold_

_The sorting they supported?_

_When I to them was sold,_

_They found their solution._

_They took a bit of their minds,_

_And put them into me._

_So now it is I who finds_

_Where you all must be._

_But you must hear my warning;_

_This message I give you hence:_

_Danger lurks everywhere,_

_And unity is your only defense._

_Should darkness ever arise_

_Become whole, you must unite,_

_For it is only then_

_That you will be able to fight."_

"Interesting message," Prue murmured. "Sounds a bit like what Dumbledore said, don't you think?"

Paige agreed. Why was that such an important message?

"When your name is called, come up and put on the hat." The names of the students were then called out. After each name, there was a bit of silence, then a voice would call out a house. Paige wasn't sure what was making the decisions, but this was making her nervous.

After the last name had been called, there was a large amount of murmuring in the Hall.

"If you are all wondering if the Charmed Ones are attending Hogwarts, the answer is yes. May I present… the Charmed Ones."

The doors opened. The crowd of students stared at them. All those eyes… all focused on them. Paige fidgeted. She and Piper walked behind Prue and Phoebe as they entered the Hall. Paige tried to focus on keeping a blush out of her cheeks.

Dumbledore motioned for them to come up to a stool at the front of the Hall. Upon the stool, there was a tattered, old hat.

"Halliwell, Prue, please put on the hat."

* * *

Prue placed the hat on her head. As she sat there in front of all those people and nothing happened, she started to feel self-conscious. 

"My, my," a small voice suddenly whispered into Prue's ear. "What do we have here? A Charmed One…" The voice chuckled. "You've been holding out on me. Well, onto business, then." There was a pause. "You've got quite an interesting mind. You're brave, of course, and willing to defend Good. Still, you're also full of ambition—a clear kind of ambition. You can keep calm in any situation. Quite smart, too. A little hard-shelled, but I suppose that's to be expected. You'd do well in Ravenclaw, but Gryffindor would also be good."

Prue felt some relief wash over her. The hat didn't want to put her into Slytherin.

"Though… I think you would do quite well in Slytherin."

Prue forgot to breathe for a moment. _No, that's all wrong. Slytherins are evil. I'm not evil._

"Ah, you've got the usual prejudices, I see. You don't really understand what the houses are all about. But now's not the time to explain them. Slytherin would definitely help you develop your potential, you know."

_I'll bet Gryffindor could help me too,_ Prue thought.

"True, true. Hmm… I think I know where to put you."

_Gryffindor_.

"SLYTHERIN!"

A hush came over the crowd. Then the Sytherins burst into applause. Numbly, Prue got up and removed the hat. Slytherin? The Slytherins—her fellow housemates—welcomed her at the table. The reality of the situation hit her. She was a Slytherin.

* * *

"Halliwell, Phoebe." 

Phoebe approached the stool with cool confidence. In truth, she was nervous, and that was surprising to her. She never let anything get to her. Why did some stupid little sorting matter to her at all?

Phoebe picked up the hat and placed it on her head, unsure of what to expect.

"Oh, you have quite the presence," a little voice commented. "All the attitude and air of a Slytherin. Yes, you take nothing from no one. You have no allies, only enemies."

_Damn straight_, Phoebe smugly thought.

"You put up quite the front, don't you? You make it seem like you're a rough person, but that's not who you truly are. It's all here in your mind, you know."

This caught Phoebe off-guard.

"Don't be so surprised," the voice said. "It's not all that difficult to see who you truly are. You have strength, but you've allowed outside factors to weaken you. Your weakness made you into this. It was a type of self-defense."

This hat was ripping her down, exposing all that she really was. _You don't know anything,_ Phoebe snapped.

"You've got a whole well of wondrous qualities. You shouldn't hide them away. I think I know where you need to be…"

_Slytherin._

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

No one was more surprised than Phoebe at this development. She had heard about Hufflepuffs. They were a bunch of softies. They were nobodies. Phoebe Halliwell was not a softy. God, she hated this school already.

* * *

Paige had decided that there was no rhyme or reason to the hat's decisions. She had been sure that Prue was going to end up in Gryffindor. She had been positive that Phoebe would be in Slytherin. They weren't, though. Just where was the hat going to place her? 

"Halliwell, Paige."

Paige gave up on hesitation. The sooner she got this over with, the better. She strode up to the stool, took the hat, and placed it on her head. _It'll be over soon,_ she told herself.

"In a bit of a rush, are we?"

Though Paige was getting used to the oddities of the wizarding world, she still had some trouble with the hat talking directly to her. _Might as well get it over with._

"Ah. Let's see… You're strong and brave, like your sisters. You're also pretty smart… like them. But you each have your distinguishing quality. I just have to find yours." The voice stopped for a long time. "There… Now why would you hide that?"

_Hide what?_

"You're quite the motivator. You have a unique ability to inspire action. You also are able to take part in that action. Interesting… Where will you go? Not Ravenclaw… Nor Hufflepuff… Hmm, will it be Gryffindor or Slytherin?"

Paige quite preferred Gryffindor, but if she were placed in Slytherin, she would at least have one sister with her.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The most enthusiastic applause began. Paige felt incredibly relieved as she went over to the Gryffindor table. There, she noticed that James, Remus, and Sirius were all Gryffindors. Looking around, she saw that Lily was a Ravenclaw.

The Hall sank into silence as Piper approached the stool.

"_Væe victis,_" a voice murmured.

Paige glanced around, but she couldn't tell who had spoken those strange words.

* * *

"Halliwell, Piper." 

Piper's heart was beating so fast that she was a little dizzy. That, combined with her inability to take a deep breath, did not help her at all. Piper walked up to the stool, hoping that her nerves didn't show on her face. Prue had been so calm… and she had been put into Slytherin. That was wrong, so very wrong. Prue wasn't evil. What if the hat put her into Slytherin too?

The hat slid down onto Piper's head.

"And another Charmed One," a little voice said. "You too have quite an interesting mind. No less than I would have expected. You're very clever, I see, and you like to know everything about everything. Immense curiosity… You're a bit meek, but you're still strong. You want to prove your strength, don't you?"

Piper felt obliged to answer, though it seemed like the hat wasn't really talking to her. _I suppose,_ she said.

"You'd excel in Gryffindor."

Yes. Gryffindor was good.

"However… there are other qualities that you should show off. Gryffindor really isn't the right place for you. But I know just where to put you…"

Piper crossed her fingers.

"RAVENCLAW!"

Applause shattered the former silence of the room. _Thank God,_ Piper thought as she went over to the Ravenclaw table. _Not Slytherin. _She made sure to sit at the very end, slightly away from the others. She looked quickly to Prue, who looked completely dazed. She wanted to make some gesture to reassure Prue, but she had no idea what Prue would want to see.

"And now, let the feast begin," Dumbledore said.

The food appeared right after the words came out of his mouth. This was something Piper was now used to.

Someone plopped down next to her. Piper stared down at her plate, pretending that she didn't notice whoever was there. "Hey, Piper," Lily said.

Piper looked up, feeling relieved that it was someone she knew. She was so shy around strangers.

"Hi, Lily."

"Well, welcome to the wonderful house of Ravenclaw," Lily said, smiling.

"You're in Ravenclaw too?"

Lily nodded. "Yup. How have things been going with your power?"

"Oh, my power is doing okay. Can't seem to control the freeze when I'm surprised, though," Piper said.

"You can freeze things?" the Ravenclaw on her other side said.

Piper then noticed that everyone at the table had been staring at her. Piper blushed and looked down. "Yeah, that's my power."

"Can I see?" the girl eagerly asked.

"Um… sure."

Half the table moved closer. Piper tried not to think about this as she picked up her spoon and dropped it, freezing it in midair.

"Oh my God! That's so awesome," a younger girl gasped.

Piper blushed even more. She glanced at the other tables and found that Prue and Paige too were giving demonstrations. Phoebe was chatting with a girl who had brownish-blonde hair and dull gray eyes.

"Hey, could you do that again?" a Gryffindor boy asked.

Now, the students switched their focuses to watch a different sister.

"Okay."

By the end of the meal, Piper had given a few more demonstrations and had been subjected to a large amount of socializing. She was quite relieved when she was finally able to get away from the Great Hall.

Nope, she was not going to like being famous.

**A/N: review, review, review! Support S.P.E.W.! After all, someone has to protect Legolas from the rabid teenyboppers. Yes, I know that I'm a dork.**


	7. This Means War

**A/N: 7/26/07 – I changed Sev's scene around a bit. I think it's better now. But my feelings about my reviewers remain unchanged: I heart my reviewers this much!**

**CharmingAngelNL: oh why thank you! Here's more.**

**Charmedaholics: thanks for the review. I'm loving the encouragement.**

**Charmedaholic521: I hope you consider this more good work.**

**Faith Kingsley: sharing a room is a good idea. I think I'll have it so that they eventually are forced to share a room. After all, the school isn't ready yet for the Charmed Ones to be left to their own devices…**

**Red-rumm: here's more, at last. Thanks for reviewing.**

**Andy20: argh, I am so slow, and I must apologize. Thanks for the review.**

**Passions: not exactly ASAP… all right, not speedy at all. But here it is. Thanks for the encouragement!**

**Animalzoo: thank you for reviewing. As for the powers, they won't be able to keep 'em secret at Hogwarts. Besides, they're there to work on their powers. Good point, though.**

All the sisters were significantly dazed following the feast. The new knowledge that they were suddenly given after the feast did not help any.

"We're going to be in separate dorms?" Piper said, glancing at her sisters.

"Thank God," Phoebe said. "I can hardly stand another moment with them."

McGonagall looked at her sternly. "Phoebe, that attitude will not do at all."

"Sorry," Phoebe said smoothly.

"You are a part of the Power of Four," McGonagall went on. "You need to all work together as a team. Otherwise, you risk letting dark forces overtake you."

"Um, Professor?" Paige said.

"Yes?"

"I think they're waiting for us," Paige said, indicating the other students.

"Oh, yes. Do hurry along," McGonagall said. "And try not to overuse your powers. They are not playthings."

Paige and Piper looked down, shamefaced. Prue was still rather out of it, though she did nod. The four sisters went their separate ways. Phoebe's fellow Hufflepuffs continued to stare at her, but she ignored them and talked only to the girl she had become acquainted with at the feast.

"I can't believe these people," Phoebe said to Rhiannon. "It's not my fault that Paige read that stupid incantation."

"Wiccan powers aren't so bad, though," Rhiannon responded. "You'll find that precognition can be quite useful. I don't think I'd ever part with my abilities."

"Yeah, but my sisters got awesome powers."

"Just think of all things you can find out about them, though. Eventually, you'll be able to sense the past as well. Your sisters won't be able to keep secrets from you." She winked.

Phoebe hadn't thought of that. "True." Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad after all. She looked up to see that the group was stopping before a portrait of three women—an old woman, a young woman, and a middle-aged woman.

"Password?" the young woman asked sweetly.

"O tempora."

The portrait swung open. This was nothing new for Phoebe. She had become accustomed to the castle and its workings. Rhiannon too seemed quite used to this, which was not surprising. Rhiannon was in the fifth year, and she had transferred from a school in the United States. She was vague about why she had moved, summing it up as "family changes". Phoebe didn't bother to push it.

Phoebe didn't pay much attention to her surroundings: the Hufflepuff common room was dull. She was equally unimpressed by the dorm. She had, unfortunately, been placed with the first years, so she and Rhiannon were forced to separate.

Phoebe learned the names of her dorm mates only because she wanted to know whom she was dealing with.

First there was a timid witch named Emily Macmillan, who would certainly be of no use to Phoebe. Then there was a painfully plain witch named Rebecca Parker. She was apparently muggleborn. Phoebe wasn't yet sure of what significance that had in the wizarding world, but she was going to find out. Phoebe's third dorm mate was called Lynn Gomes. She was a pretty girl who had one muggle parent (her father) and one magical parent (her mother). Phoebe's last dorm mate was Celia Davis. She was from the United States—that was all she said about herself.

All in all, none of these girls was very interesting. They seemed a little afraid of Phoebe, and spoke only to each other. Not even their conversation was interesting. They didn't gossip at all. Phoebe suspected, though, that they would have gossiped about the Charmed Ones had she not been present.

Eventually, the girls went to sleep. Phoebe certainly was not tired. With nothing else to do, she got up and left. She knew that if she wandered, as she intended, she would be breaking a rule. But rules were made to be broken, and she was just the person to break them.

In the common room, she found Rhiannon sitting in a chair.

"I knew you'd come down," Rhiannon said complacently.

"You get premonitions for every little thing?"

"My premonitions aren't the same as yours. I don't have to get a full vision to know what's going to happen," Rhiannon answered.

"Do you know what I'm going to do now?" Phoebe asked.

"You're going to show me the castle." She got up and went over to the portrait. "Let's go."

Phoebe smirked. She liked Rhiannon's attitude, and she could tell that they were going to get along famously.

* * *

_Okay, everything's going to be all right. Deep breath. This is no big deal. This is a school, nothing more, _Piper told herself as her stomach did flip-flops. _Yeah, nothing more than a magical school where everybody knows me. _

Miserably, she smoothed out her robes, wishing that she had opted for the private lessons. Maybe her whitelighter was nice.

Sighing, Piper tried to ignore the fact that her dorm mates were staring at her. Oh, why had she gone along with this? Why hadn't she rejected her powers and refused to go to a magical school?

_I'm not going,_ she told herself and looked longingly toward the bed. She could just hide under the covers all day. No one would notice her absence…

Yet she still went down to the Great Hall, clutching her bag close to her. There were a few glances toward her, but for the most part, no one really paid attention to her. She was grateful for that.

Piper looked around, trying to find her sisters. Paige was seated at the Gryffindor table, chatting with a group of girls. She was fitting in well. Prue was reading some book and staying as far away from her fellow Slytherins as possible. Phoebe was nowhere to be seen, though her gray-eyed friend was at the Hufflepuff table.

Piper frowned. What was Phoebe up to now? If she didn't get here soon, she was going to be late. Knowing Phoebe, that was probably the plan.

"Piper, why don't you sit here?" Piper heard Lily say from the other end of the table.

"Um, okay." Piper went over to where she was sitting, feeling quietly happy that she didn't have to sit alone.

"Piper, this is Lexa," Lily said, gesturing towards a black-haired beauty. "Lexa, Piper."

"Hi," Piper said.

Lexa nodded in return. She didn't seem very friendly.

"And this is Mary," Lily went on, pointing out a blonde girl.

"Hi," Mary said. She was downright cold.

"Hi." It appeared that Piper was in the wrong territory, and that became more apparent as breakfast went on. Piper was clearly not welcome here. She made note of that. It was too bad: she thought Lily was pretty nice.

Breakfast plodded along, and soon enough, Piper was headed towards her first class: Charms. Phoebe was supposed to be there as well, but she didn't show up until the class was half over.

Professor Flitwick was not pleased.

"Miss Halliwell, the fact that you are a Charmed One does not give you the right to flout the rules. You are to be here on time for every class," he said.

"Being here isn't my choice," Phoebe replied. "I'm only here because of an incantation."

Phoebe went on and earned herself three detentions. She almost seemed proud of that.

Piper was embarrassed to be associated with Phoebe. Flitwick gave her a look, as if he expected her to act like Phoebe. She was so ashamed.

As for the class, it wasn't too bad. There was no magic that day, and it seemed like it would be an interesting class. But Phoebe was definitely going to make things more difficult than they needed to be.

In fact, all of the classes that day were pretty dull. No magic at all took place; none of the teachers pointed her out. Defense Against the Dark Arts did give her some trouble, however. Somehow, Piper, Prue, Phoebe, and Paige were all in that class—and they had that class everyday. Phoebe claimed that it was a plot. Prue said that the teachers probably wanted them to work on this kind of magic together. After all, they were the Charmed Ones. Piper thought that the teachers would live to regret the decision. Her prediction was correct.

Phoebe became bored of the explanation of the class and decided to put some kind of a spell on Paige. Paige suddenly flew up into the air and helplessly floated around the room.

Professor Taylor tried to bring her down, but apparently her magic was no match for the magic of a Charmed One.

"Phoebe, you take that spell off her right now," she ordered.

Phoebe didn't move. Prue took charge and said, "_Reditus._"

Paige was lowered back into her seat. She threw Phoebe an angry glare, but Phoebe was concentrating on the teacher.

"And you couldn't even reverse it," Phoebe muttered under her breath.

And so, detention number four was given to Phoebe.

The end of the day was a special blessing. Prue, Piper, and Paige were able to escape Phoebe. However, Prue was still spacey. The lights were on, but nobody seemed to be home. She almost wandered off somewhere; Piper stopped her.

"I think we all need to talk," she said.

"Here?" Prue looked around at the empty hall.

"It's as good a place as any," Piper replied.

"What do you want to talk about?" Paige asked.

Piper didn't know how to answer. "Everything that's happening."

"That could take some time," Paige said.

"Good! We deserve to take some time," said Piper. Her sisters stared at her, confused by this sudden outburst. Piper sighed and leaned against the wall, as if it could keep her together. "It's all happening so fast. So much… Mom's alive; we're witches; we have to save the world."

Paige turned her eyes toward the floor. "Everybody knows us; everybody expects us to fight demons. And maybe even that Voldyguy."

Prue's eyes became somewhat clearer. She finally looked like she was actually with them. "We're the Charmed Ones now. And I'm a Slytherin. Kind of an oxymoron."

"Just because you're a Slytherin doesn't mean that you're evil," Paige said.

"Why would the hat put me in there if I weren't?"

"Why would the hat put me in Gryffindor?" Paige challenged. "I'm not brave or strong or any of those things."

"And why would the hat put Phoebe in Hufflepuff? They're supposed to be kind-hearted," Piper pointed out. "It seems that the hat believes in whatever the houses started off as. Maybe they depended on different qualities then."

"What qualities would the hat see in me?" Prue questioned.

Piper shrugged. "Maybe we could check out a history book. There could be one that would explain all of this."

"But no book can help us with everything else," Prue softly said. "How are we supposed to face demons when we aren't united? How can we possibly deal with our destiny?"

"I'm sorry," Paige said. "I brought all this on us. I'm the one who read the incantation."

"It would have happened eventually," Piper said, but her words were hollow. "I wish this had never happened."

"If it hadn't, we wouldn't have mom back," Prue said. "I guess we can't have a normal life."

Anger grew in Piper. "It's not fair! Why can't we be normal?"

"Because we're the Charmed Ones," Prue dully said.

Yes, everything that was happening was caused by the fact that they were Charmed. Piper slid to the ground, wishing with all her heart that things could be simple. But she understood that that could never be true for them.

* * *

He would return again that night, just as he did every night. He would struggle, of course; he never gave into his dreams easily, and he fought with particular strength against this dream. But its might would always trump his will, and his mind would be overtaken by familiar images and sensations.

Compulsion. That was all the dream was: an unknown force directing Severus to navigate the Hogwarts hallways, telling him to turn here, there, stop. And he would obey, halting before the painting of the girl who had mocked him since he had seen her in the newspaper. Half-dressed, she had been. But that picture wasn't the picture he saw in the dream. In the painting, she was not a girl but a woman, and she wearing a purple robe, her hands folded demurely in her lap.

She differed from the girl who sat at the Hufflepuff table, twirling her wand carelessly as she talked with her friend and gazed with obvious lust at Potter and his idiot followers. She held herself with the kind of dignity Severus doubted Phoebe Halliwell could muster; there was supreme humility in her form. Severus had seen Phoebe's mouth curve into a similar smirk, but the woman in the painting's seemingly incongruous smirk held no arrogance. And while Phoebe's eyes were marred by an imitation of cruelty, her eyes betrayed a depth of goodness and purity.

She would turn those guileless eyes on him as he approached her. Raising one hand, she would beckon him to come closer; then, she would whisper something, and he would lean in to hear the words he already knew.

"Success is counted sweetest…" And then she would draw back, her eyes now alight with something he could not identify. The smirk would slide off her face, and he would suddenly be awake, the sheets twisted around him and frustration pounding through him.

Anger would come fast on the heels of the frustration. She had no right to invade his dreams; she had no claim on his mind. She was a fool girl who didn't understand her own powers and didn't care to. Severus knew that she could be destroyed by any demon with the slightest degree of skill.

Why did his mind distort her, give her dimensions that she did not have? How could his subconscious spot beauty and meaning in her when there clearly was neither? Why was he left to ache for a girl who did not exist outside the realm of his dreams?

His questions were unanswerable, and so he turned to the simplicity of hatred. He hated Phoebe Halliwell each time that he awoke from his recurring dream, each time that she smirked, each time that she looked at Potter. But each time that he faced her painting, the hatred fled and left him victim to desire.

"Success is counted sweetest…" And then he would hate her again.

* * *

"Su iustitia," Paige repeated to herself once more. "Su iustitia." She needed to have this spell memorized. "Su iustitia, and then a wand flick." It was simple enough, but the words could pose a problem for her.

What she was planning to do was wrong. She knew it was wrong. But she didn't want to go floating around the room again. Phoebe was already trying to turn everyone against her, even though the students had only been there for three days. Unfortunately, a lot of people were willing to follow Phoebe. The friends she had made so far were sticking by her, but Paige didn't know how long that would last. She could remember all too well how Phoebe had gotten all her friends at her old school to abandon her.

Paige blinked away the mist in her eyes and sniffed angrily. She was not going to let Phoebe ruin her life. She had magic now, and she was going to use it!

But only if Phoebe attacked her first. She had specifically chosen a spell that depended on Phoebe's actions. Wand magic didn't seem to have the repercussions that Wiccan magic did, but she wanted to be careful.

"Su iustitia," she whispered to herself one last time before she entered Potions. She couldn't believe that Grams was her teacher. As much as she loved her grandmother, Grams was fairly intimidating. Plus, it was just so weird.

Grams did have her good points as a teacher, though. She said that she did not believe in notes. "You can take all the notes you want in this class," she had said, "but that doesn't mean that you'll be good at potions. You're only good at potions when you can make the potions."

"Today," Grams announced at the start of the class, "we will be making a simple but weak healing potion. Healing potions are necessary throughout life, and you might as well learn how to make one. You'll deal with stronger ones as you advance."

She flicked her wand. "Here are the ingredients and instructions, but do not start yet. Let's discuss the ingredients."

Though the discussion was not particularly titillating, it did help Paige to understand what the heck she was doing. She started on the healing potion with what could nearly be considered confidence. As she was adding a crushed bay leaf, a sensation like an electric shock went through her body. She almost yelped, but stopped herself before she could give Phoebe the satisfaction. One look at Phoebe confirmed that it had been she.

Well, Paige was prepared. Covertly, she got out her wand. When Grams's back was turned, Paige muttered, "_Su iustitia_" and flicked her wand. Phoebe's eyes widened in shock as the electric jolt went through her. Another jolt hit Paige, and then went back to Phoebe. Phoebe quickly undid the spell, and Paige went on working on her potion.

The potion turned out nicely, and Paige was quite proud of it. It was even worth the death glare from Phoebe. Paige only walked a little faster than Phoebe as they exited Potions.

"Nice little trick, Paige," Phoebe said to her. Paige almost thought there was some respect in her eyes. "But this means war."

Summoning all her mettle, Paige smiled and said, "Bring it on."

**A/N: this girl just wants… she wants reviews, reviews. I love reviews! And remember, reviewing will give you superpowers! (Disclaimer: reviewing may only give you a warm and fuzzy feeling inside and make me oh so happy.)**


	8. Lessons of All Kinds

**A/N: I could give half a million excuses here. But I'm too lazy.**

**Navy-girl2198: changing your name just to confuse me—tricky. Thank you for taking the time to review. **

**Animalzoo: thank you. Here's more of the war.**

**PrudenceMelindaHalliwell: the end? You won't get rid of me that easily. There is much more to come. Thank you for reviewing.**

Paige awoke the next morning feeling quite good. She had stood up to Phoebe all by herself! She was proud of herself, and she started the day off smiling.

Then she went into the bathroom and saw herself in the mirror.

She screamed; her hands flew up to cover her face. After a minute, she cautiously removed her hands and looked into the mirror again. Once again, she screamed.

A few girls rushed in. Paige kept her hands over her face as she cried, "Don't look at me! Don't look at me!"

Paige couldn't believe it. Her teeth—her beautiful teeth! Her hair! Her face!

Paige now had huge buckteeth, warts, and Pippi Longstocking hair, complete with the outrageous braids. "Mom! Mom!"

Her mother orbed in. "What is it? What happened?"

Paige was crying too hard to speak, so she uncovered her face. The girls present all gasped. Patty frowned.

"Phoebe?" she said.

Paige nodded, her hands again covering her face. "I look hideous! I can't face everyone like this!"

"Calm down, Paige," Patty said. "Is your wand in the dorm?"

Paige sniffed and said, "Yes."

"Come on." She took Paige's hand and led her back into the dorm, sitting her down on the bed. The girls followed to watch. "Take your wand and point it at yourself. then say, '_civitate donare._'"

Paige did as she was told. "Is it better?"

Her mother's face was troubled, and this did nothing to assure Paige. "A little. Your teeth are better, and the warts are gone, but…"

Paige touched her hair and felt that it was still Pippi-style. She raised her wand and spoke the words. Her hair refused to change. She felt her tears returning.

"Don't cry, Paige," Patty soothingly said. "We'll take care of this. Take my hand."

Paige took her mother's hand, and her mother orbed them to another dorm.

"Phoebe Melissa Halliwell," Patty said in a sharp voice. "You wake up this instant."

Phoebe or lump-in-the-bed moved a little.

"Phoebe!"

Lump-in-the-bed jerked up and yawned. "What?" Phoebe said. Her eyes rested on Paige and she grinned. "It worked." She sat up, fully alert, and studied Paige. "Well, almost. I wanted buckteeth and warts, but oh well."

"Phoebe, this is unacceptable," Patty said. "You cannot be so cruel to your sister."

"Half-sister," Phoebe corrected.

"I don't care about blood. She was raised a Halliwell. She was raised your sister, and you will accept that."

"Sorry, mom, but I can't. She's a weakling, not a Halliwell," Phoebe replied.

Paige had taken just about enough. "Oh yeah? Well—_canis_!"

Phoebe's tongue flopped out, though it was noticeably longer and quite obviously a dog's. Her ears and nose also become those of a dog. She barked and raised her wand.

"Stop. Both of you." Their mother stepped between them, eyes flashing dangerously. "Paige, take it off using the spell I taught you."

Paige grudgingly raised her wand and said, "_Civitate donare._"

"Phoebe, do the same to Paige."

Phoebe raised her wand.

"Any bad spells and I'll orb them back at you."

Phoebe saw that their mother was serious and muttered darkly, "_Civitate donare._"

"I'm disappointed in both of you," Patty said. "If you want to act like children, you will eventually be expelled. And when they expel you, they snap your wand in half. You can go right back into public school, and you'll never learn any more magic."

"What about the Power of Four?" Phoebe said.

"You actually care about that? I thought it was all about you, Phoebe," Patty said.

"I meant that you have to keep us together. Demons, and all that jazz."

"There are other ways, Phoebe." Patty's eyes softened almost imperceptibly. "I hope that you'll learn to get along. You so quickly lost me. Just imagine how quickly you can lose each other."

Phoebe tried to sneer at the sentiment, but her eyes were almost troubled. Paige didn't let go of that image until she had returned to her dorm. She knew it didn't change anything, but maybe it could eventually.

* * *

Piper stared at her mother, quite certain that this had to be a joke. "You have got to be kidding," she said.

"It's a necessary skill, Piper," her mother replied. "You need to know how to do it."

"Why would I ever need to fly a broom?" Piper cried.

"And why do we have to have private lessons with the Potter boy?" Prue asked, glancing at Phoebe. Phoebe smirked serenely and crossed her arms.

"James is on the Quidditch team and is very talented. No matter what, he is a good teacher when it comes to that," Patty answered. "And you need to know how to fly a broom because you aren't yet allowed to apparate. If I'm not around to orb you, you need to have another form of transportation."

Paige hesitated. "Is it hard?"

"No. It's like riding a bike, actually."

"Except you're floating in the air on a piece of wood," Piper muttered.

"Oh, Piper, you've got to be more adventuresome," Patty said. "Now, James will be meeting you here in a few moments. Do not touch the brooms until he arrives and instructs you."

Piper desperately said, "But mom, can't you—"

"I have to speak with Dumbledore about a very important issue. You'll be fine, I promise." And she orbed out.

Piper looked around miserably, carefully avoiding looking at the broom beside her. She didn't want to do this at all. Flying around on brooms—it was ridiculous!

"Maybe it'll be fun," Paige said. But Piper heard the doubt in her voice. She looked at her younger sister, experiencing a sudden connection as she saw that Paige felt the same way she did.

Phoebe reached for her broom; Prue moved it away from her with a swish of her hand. "Don't even think about it," Prue said coolly. Phoebe glared at her.

"Good evening, ladies!"

Piper tried not to roll her eyes. James Potter had arrived on the scene, and he was taking in Phoebe's image with obvious enjoyment. Phoebe noticed this and stuck her chest out more. Oh God, did Phoebe have to flirt with every guy she came across? And that James wasn't any better. He certainly wasn't looking away.

"Now, the first thing you need before you start flying is confidence," James began. "You have to believe that you can do this."

Yeah, right. As if Piper was actually going to believe that a stick was going to keep her up in the air.

"Put your right hand over your broom," James instructed, "and say, 'Up!'"

Piper stuck her hand out and said flatly, "Up." The broom didn't move. Paige got the same results, but Phoebe and Prue's brooms immediately jumped into the air.

"No, make it a command, Piper," James said. "You too, Paige."

Piper sighed and said, "Up!" The broom rolled on the ground but still didn't rise up.

"Looks like talent is another thing Piper missed out on," Phoebe muttered cruelly.

Anger bubbled up in her, and she shouted, "UP!" The broom promptly shot up and hovered by her side. She threw a glare at Phoebe, who winked. Piper thought that was fairly strange, but she shrugged it off.

Paige got her broom up in the air, and James had them mount their brooms.

"Am I doing this right, James?" Phoebe asked silkily.

"Well, you might want to—here." He corrected her posture, coming dangerously close to touching her behind. Phoebe seemed disappointed when he didn't, but one look at Prue (who looked like her head was about to explode) encouraged him to move away while he had certain parts still attached.

Now up on the broom, Piper still didn't like it. She didn't want to kick off; yet she did when James told them to.

Piper only hovered, but Phoebe took off like a shot into the sky. She looked delighted. It was strange to use that adjective in association with Phoebe, but it was the only word that fit.

"Phoebe!" Prue took off after her. At first, she only looked angry; as she flew on, her expression relaxed and she smiled. She tried a loop and laughed when she succeeded. Phoebe glanced back and imitated her sister. Then she laughed—an actual laugh!

"Try to catch me!" Phoebe called back. Prue sped up and almost caught her, but Phoebe dove down suddenly and continued at a lower level.

Piper contented herself to wading through the air like a duck in water. Paige watched her more adventurous sisters in awe and occasionally went forward a few inches.

"Whoo!" The air chase had turned; Phoebe was now pursuing Prue. They both pulled off moves that appeared pretty complicated.

"They're naturals," James murmured.

Their flying was impressive, but what impressed Piper more was the fact that both Prue and Phoebe were genuinely having fun with each other. They weren't bickering; they were having fun. That was truly amazing.

Piper had had enough flying, so she landed and got off the broom. Paige followed her lead.

"They've never flown before?" James asked.

"Never," Piper said. "Now we'll never get them off." But she was quite happy to see them like this.

After a while, Prue remembered her eternal truth (she was the big sister and therefore could not have too much fun) and landed. Phoebe would have stayed up, but Prue drew her down with her telekinesis.

"That was the most amazing thing ever," Phoebe breathlessly said, her cheeks ruddy and a huge grin on her face.

"It was all right," Prue said, even though a smile was on her face too.

Phoebe poked her. "Oh, shut up, Prue. You loved it."

Prue didn't respond, though her smile did widen noticeably.

"You two aren't in my house, so I probably shouldn't be the one to suggest this to you," James said, "but I think you two would love Quidditch."

"That's a wizarding sport, right?" Prue questioned.

"Yeah."

"Then it wouldn't be right for us to compete," Prue said, a statement which caused Phoebe to exclaim, "What?"

"Phoebe has the ability to see into the future, and I can move things with my mind. Everyone else would think we had an unfair advantage," Prue went on.

"Don't worry about that," James said. "I'm a conjurer, and they let me on. Sirius is on the team too, and he's a telepath. Frankly, it would even things up."

Prue still stood firm.

Piper, for once, felt that Prue was wrong. She had seen how thrilled Prue had looked. With all that was being forced on them, Prue had the right to pick something she so obviously enjoyed. Plus, this would be a great release for Phoebe. Perhaps Quidditch could focus that girl.

"You do what you want, Prue," Phoebe said. "I'm going to try this Quidditch thing." She grinned slightly, but there was no joy in her grin. "I bet it kills you that you can't do anything about it."

Prue glanced at James, then looked back to Phoebe. "We will discuss this later, young lady."

Phoebe laughed mirthlessly. "Young lady? My God, Prue. What are you, my mommy? I have mom back. I don't need you." She put her broom down and started to walk away. "I don't need any of you."

"Phoebe!" Prue called.

Paige spoke suddenly, in a burst of emotion: "Let her go. We don't need her." With that, Paige walked away.

Piper sighed. Why did this always have to happen?

Just when Piper thought the drama was done, Prue turned and faced James.

"Well, I guess the lesson's over," he said and started toward the castle.

Prue caught him. "I don't think so. I still have something to teach you." She studied him a moment before she spoke. "I know what kind of a person you are. And I know what kind of a person my sister is. You will not get involved with Phoebe, understand?"

"I'm most offended," James said, removing himself from Prue's grip. "Such thoughts hadn't even crossed my mind."

"Well make sure it stays that way," Prue said.

"Of course." James flashed a smile. Prue rolled her eyes.

Once he was gone, Piper decided to say something. "Prue, I understand that you're concerned about Phoebe, but—"

"This isn't concern," Prue interrupted. "I'm trying to save that girl from herself."

"Uh, that's concern. If it isn't, then you're just being a control freak," Piper responded.

"Somebody needs to control her."

Piper wasn't sure whether she could say what she wanted to say. She did anyway. "It doesn't have to be you. Phoebe is right—in a very limited way. We have mom. Mom can be the mother now."

Prue stared at her. "I'm not being motherly. I'm being sisterly."

"Prue, when you're sisterly, you share shirts and gossip. When was the last time we really did that?"

"Piper, we have more important things to worry about."

Latent anger arose in Piper. "I don't want to worry!"

"None of us do, but—"

"Maybe I can understand why Phoebe walks away from you," Piper said, her mouth moving faster than her self-censors could. "You're my sister, Prue, and I love you, but you don't act like my sister. I have always appreciated all the things you did for us, but you don't need to do those things anymore. You can act like a sister now."

The change in Prue's eyes was so subtle that Piper didn't even notice it until Prue spoke. "I can't."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't, and I won't," Prue said, as if this was an answer.

Piper blinked. "Won't what?" she slowly asked.

Prue shook her head. "Things change too quickly. I don't want to change and then have to change again." She took in a breath and quickly said, "I'm going in now." She began a brisk walk back to the castle.

Piper walked next to her. "Prue—" She didn't know what to say.

"Don't take this away from me," Prue said.

"I'm not taking anything away from you," Piper said as she touched Prue's arm.

Prue quickened her pace. "I'm just trying to help her, Piper. Why is that so terrible?"

Suddenly, all the light around them disappeared, and all Piper could see was a gray mist. "Prue?"

"You don't understand," a loud voice said. "Listen to me. The painting is dangerous."

Then the mist was gone. Piper stood frozen. "Did you…?"

Prue nodded. "Yes. I saw it."

"But what was it?"

"I don't know. But I think we ought to talk to mom."


	9. Sweet, Sweet Revenge

**A/N: I know that it's a shock that I finally updated, but here's another shock: I have two chapters for my loyal readers. Two! I hope this offering is pleasing.**

**Andy20: thank you for reviewing! Severus will be doing a lot soon enough, and plenty of sisterly moments are on the horizon. Just keep reading.**

**Anassa aldara: I left it for a while (I am ashamed), but I'm back. Thank you.**

**Emelie172: oh my, what competition there will be. I suck at all sports, and so I probably won't be good at describing even a wizard sport. Still, I will try. Thanks for reviewing.**

**Charmedaholic521: I'm glad to find you're enjoying this. If you're back in school (I pity you) or dreadfully close to being back in school, I hope this helps. Thanks for reviewing. **

Piper blinked. "Well…" Quickly glancing to Prue, she saw that her sister also didn't know how to answer the question. Before them, Dumbledore waited patiently for an answer. Their mother was pacing, anxiety written in her every move. "Okay, this is going to sound crazy, but it sounded a little like… me."

"The voice was yours?" Dumbledore said.

"Not really," Prue jumped in. "It was a little like hers, but more mature. It's probably what she'll sound like when she's an adult."

"I see," Dumbledore murmured.

"You see what, Albus?" Patty abruptly said. "What sense can you possibly see in all this?" She rubbed her temples. Suddenly, she dropped her hands. "Oh, it was probably just one of the ghosts. Maybe Peeves."

Dumbledore shook his head slightly. "No, this seems far more serious." His eyes connected with Patty's, and a moment of silence passed. Then their mother spoke.

"Girls, I think we can handle it from here," their mother said.

"But what—"

"We'll figure it out," Patty interrupted. "Run along, now." She ushered them out.

The door closed behind the two sisters.

Piper looked at Prue, puzzled. "What was that about?"

"Probably something they don't want us to know." Prue didn't look very concerned. She barely looked interested.

Piper put her fingertip against the door. "You don't think the _auceps_ will work, do you?"

"I doubt it. We'd better just go." With that, they made their way down the stairs and out into the hallway. Prue was very quiet, and this worried Piper. She tried to coax her sister into interaction by commenting on the incident.

"That was seriously creepy."

"Yes, it was."

Piper could see that Prue's mind was far from this place. "It really did sound like me," Piper tried again. An unwanted shiver went up her spine as she processed her own words. She glanced out the window to find that it was dark, and the moon was high in the sky. "Wow, it's later than I thought," Piper said. "Are you going to bed now?"

"I guess."

They came to the place where they were to part.

"Night, Prue."

"Night."

As Prue's footsteps faded from Piper's range of hearing, the total silence of the hall became more obvious. The hair on the back of Piper's neck stood up, and she became sure that someone was watching her. She stopped and looked around, but the hall was empty.

Unnerved, Piper began to walk again. Then, there was a sound—howling? No, it was just a sudden wind outside. Piper paused, listening to the wind. Suddenly, she heard a footstep. She whirled around, flinging up her hands.

A dark figure froze. Someone had been turning the corner. When Piper moved closer, she saw that it was a boy with dark hair and cold eyes. It was just a student.

Piper laughed nervously. Unsure of what to do, she just turned the corner. Passing by a classroom, she heard something else. This time, she didn't freeze anyone. Instead, she looked into the classroom. Lexa and Lily were standing at a desk.

"Lily, you have to just let it go. Seriously, this is bordering on obsession."

"Lex, he spied on me. I want revenge."

Lexa yawned. "I'm sure that's real fun for you, but I just want to go to bed. Ugh, how can you eat while you're making this disgusting thing?"

"I had a craving, all right?"

"Oh, I see," Lexa said with a smirk. "You're PMS-ing. That's why you're so emotional."

"Vengeful is not an emotion," Lily replied.

"Lily, just eat your chocolate bar, cry, and go to sleep. You'll feel better in the morning."

"Just go to bed, Lex."

Lexa sighed. "I hate it when you get this way. Good night, Lily."

"Night."

Piper hid in the shadows, though she had no reason to. Lexa passed without noticing her.

Piper emerged, and, looking in on Lily, decided to find out what was going on, even though this was none of her business. She was curious. "Lily?" Piper said as she entered the classroom.

Lily jumped. "Oh, hi, Piper." She then took a bite from a rather large chocolate bar. "I'm just..." She gestured toward the cauldron, and bit into the bar again.

"Ah. A potion," Piper concluded needlessly.

"It's for Potter," Lily said. "He had a peek at me while I was naked."

"Sounds like his style."

"You can tell already?"

Piper nodded.

"He's such a jerk," Lily said. "I really hate him."

"What's the potion going to do?" Piper asked, approaching the cauldron. The unpleasant odor it was emitting reached her nostrils, and she took a step back.

Lily grinned. "Whatever karma deems proper. It's a general revenge potion that I made up."

"You must be pretty good at potions."

"I have to be," Lily replied. She tossed a dash of something into the cauldron. "What are you doing up so late?"

Piper hesitated. Lily seemed cool enough, but did she really want to share the incident with her? Well, what was the harm? "Prue and I saw something... weird."

"Something weird at Hogwarts? This has got to be good."

"Yeah, it is. We were outside, and this gray mist appeared out of nowhere. And this voice said something about a painting being dangerous."

"Wow. Freaky."

"And that's not the weirdest part. The voice sounded like my voice."

"Now that's unusual. Have you looked in that book of yours?"

Piper was lost. "What book?"

"The infamous Book of Shadows."

"Oh, that thing. I think my grandmother has it."

Lily's eyebrow went up. "You're not even allowed to look at it?"

Piper shrugged. "I'm not sure. Everything's been so hectic lately. We haven't really learned everything about our powers."

Lily looked up from the potion. "I can't imagine what it's like. I mean, everybody has always known about you guys, but you didn't even know about magic. It must have been quite a shock."

The cauldron shook, drawing Lily's attention. "It's done." She ladled some of the acid-green liquid up and put it in a bottle. Lily held it up lovingly. "This thing has a million and one uses, I swear. I made a big batch—it's going to be a busy year. Would you like a bottle?"

"Oh, no thanks. That seems more like something Phoebe would want."

Lily made a point of examining the bottle. "Really? I wouldn't have guessed."

"You don't need to pretend you haven't heard about Phoebe," Piper said. "I know everyone has. Phoebe is completely out of control."

Lily didn't look like she knew how to respond. "Well, she did save my life."

"What?"

"You didn't know?"

"No. What happened?"

"I was attacked by a Death Eater. Phoebe saw it before it happened, and she stopped it."

This was a whole new side of Phoebe, one Piper had never known existed. Interesting. "She didn't tell us that."

"I imagine it didn't really mean much." Lily began to bottle the rest of the potion.

No, that meant a lot; Piper just didn't know what it meant. "It's pretty late," Piper said. "I'm sorry if I bothered you."

"You didn't bother me at all," Lily said. "It was nice having some company. Lexa and Mary simply do not understand the value of revenge."

"I've never really needed revenge."

"No sisterly revenge at all?"

"No," Piper replied. "I'm more the mediator."

"Ah. I've only got one sister, and I fight with her constantly," Lily said.

"You have a sister?"

Lily nodded. "She's fourteen, and she is such a brat."

"Does she come here?"

"No. She's a muggle, and she hates the fact that I'm a witch. She thinks I'm abnormal." Lily rolled her eyes. "I keep hoping she'll outgrow it. I mean, magic is cool, especially our kind of magic. Well, except for that pesky personal gain."

Piper vaguely recalled the meaning of personal gain, but she really couldn't relate to what Lily was saying. "It's okay, I guess."

"Uh-oh. An okay is never a good sign. You don't like magic?"

Piper sighed. "It's complicated. Three months ago, I was going to a school where only five people knew my name, and the biggest thing that ever happened was when someone stole a final exam. And I thought my mom was gone forever."

Lily's eyes saddened. "I feel so guilty," she said. "I've had your mom as a whitelighter for years, and you couldn't even see her."

"You feel guilty? Don't," Piper said. "I'm glad I didn't get my magic until now."

"I'm sure you'll feel better once you see that you can make a difference with your powers. Or you'll see that you can do some wicked cool things with your powers."

Piper smiled a little. "Either way, it seems I have something to look forward to."

"That's the spirit." Lily slipped the bottles into a large case. "We'd better get to bed before we get in trouble."

"Good idea."

* * *

Lily couldn't keep the grin off her face. She kept trying to think of serious things, but the only thing on her mind was how wonderful this was going to be. She just knew that it was going to be glorious. Priceless. Timeless. Certainly, she didn't know what her revenge would turn out to be, but she had poured more than enough spite in to the potion. Whatever was going to happen was going to be the perfect revenge.

The grin would make the boys suspicious. She didn't need that. "Lex, help me out," Lily said, turning to her friend.

"With what?" Lexa muttered, distracted by a rather enjoyable breakfast.

"The _grin_," Lily impatiently answered. "I need to tone it down."

"Nope."

"But Lexa—"

"No." Lexa waved her hand, shooing Lily away.

Lily stuck her tongue out at her, but Lexa did not respond. Her hand waving, though, gave Lily an idea. Checking to make sure the boys were still missing, Lily was happy to see her solution walk through the door. "Piper!" Lily ran up to Piper, still grinning.

Piper stopped, confused. "Did I miss it?" she asked, misinterpreting the grin.

"Oh, no. They haven't even arrived yet. But I do have a problem. I can't seem to make this grin go away, and I don't want them to get suspicious," Lily explained.

Piper still looked confused. "How can I—"

"I'll get my face to relax for a moment," Lily said. "You freeze it."

"What?" Piper shook her head. "No, I can't. I'm no good at this. I mean, that's way too specific. Besides, I can't freeze you. You're one of my kind."

"My mouth isn't where my magic is." Lily paused. "That's an interesting statement. Some might disagree. But I won't take no for an answer. You can do it, Piper. Just try."

Piper glanced around. "The teachers—"

"—are completely distracted by your grandmother," Lily interrupted.

Piper cast one last glance at the teachers, who were indeed carrying on a lively chat with her grandmother. She sighed. "All right, but I'm not promising anything. Ready?"

"Yes." Lily thought briefly about her brush with the Death Eater. Her grin faded, and Piper flicked her fingers. Lily tried to move her mouth. She couldn't. Piper looked worried, but she calmed when Lily gave her the thumbs-up.

"I should stop you," Piper sighed as Lily led her to the Ravenclaw table. "I really should."

Lily shook her head vigorously. _Not going to happen. _

Mary snickered suddenly. "Looks like you're off the hook, Lil." She pointed, and Lily turned.

Black, Potter, and Pettigrew had just arrived. They looked like hell. It did seem like someone had gotten to them first, but Lily didn't care. She wanted her satisfaction, and she was going to get it.

"Lily, I can't let you do this," Piper said. "I feel like I'm a part of this. I—wait, Lily!"

Lily didn't give them a chance to sit down. She got up with Piper nervously trailing her, strode up to them, and pulled out the potion bottle. As the bottle was sailing through the air, Piper's freeze wore off, and Lily's wicked grin seized control of her face. She could have cackled—but she really didn't know how.

The boys, used to years of fights, pulled out their wands immediately and tried to repel the bottle. Piper, who was a nervous wreck by now, threw her hands up. Lily didn't know if she was trying to freeze the potion bottle, but she didn't. She only froze the boys' spells. She accidentally made herself a part of this.

The potion spattered onto the boys. There was surprise on their faces, but that quickly became horror.

Lily's eyes went wide, and she began to laugh hysterically. Everything seemed to be going in slow motion, and that only made things better.

To be sure, Lily didn't exactly appreciate all that she saw, but she did appreciate the fact that everyone in the school was seeing it with her. God, this moment was just what she had wanted. It was priceless.

When the potion hit the boys, their clothing disappeared. It didn't fall to the floor. It disappeared completely, leaving no chance for quick cover-up. Potter, Pettigrew, and Black were left totally naked.

The teachers' jaws dropped. Every student's eyes bulged. Piper's mouth opened, and her face turned red. She hurriedly covered her eyes. Prue, seated at the loneliest corner of the Slytherin table, rolled her eyes. Phoebe and her newfound friend Rhiannon made catcalls. Young Paige, like Piper, covered her eyes, mumbling, "Oh my God, oh my God."

The boys made a quick exit, covering their naughty bits as best they could. A few girls made cries of appreciation at the back view they were given, Phoebe being the worst of all.

Once the boys were gone, the hall erupted in some laughter and a lot of horrified or excited chatter.

"Miss Evans?"

When Lily heard Dumbledore, she knew the fun was over. But what fun she had had. All the punishment, she knew, would be worth it.

She walked up to Dumbledore with no feelings of remorse. She knew that she was going to receive a lecture on the integrity of magic, but she didn't care. She was on cloud nine.

"And Miss Halliwell?"

All the color drained from Piper's face. Her lips parted, and she mouthed unheard words. She looked like she was going to faint—or throw up. Her eyelids did flutter, and Lily doubled back in a hurry. She placed her hands on Piper's arms, holding her steady.

"You're okay." Lily's eyes flicked back to Dumbledore. "Piper didn't do anything, sir. It was me."

The headmaster continued to beckon with one finger. Lily gave up and began to steer Piper toward the teacher's table.

Just then, there was huge BANG and something hit Lily. The next thing she heard was a hiss and a rattle. No, several hisses and several rattles. Something was moving on top of her head. Next to her, Piper screamed. A look at her told Lily the whole story.

Lily and Piper had snakes for hair. Potter and Black had recovered; Pettigrew was probably hiding somewhere. The two boys had opted for immediate revenge. It was rather stupid of them to do this right in front of the teachers, but passion knows no logic.

Lily was not a girl who was easily fazed. However, these snakes were real snakes. Lily was face to face with one, and it had real fangs. She tried to stay calm, and she managed to stay much calmer than Piper. Piper was crying and waving her hands wildly. The room kept freezing and unfreezing, and it was only making things harder for Lily.

"Piper! Calm down!" Lily commanded.

Piper wasn't listening. Finally, Lily grabbed her hands. The room remained unfrozen.

Slowly, Lily became aware of the fact that the hissing had stopped. Cautiously, she touched her hair. A stray snake snapped at her hand, but it didn't get a chance to bite her.

"Mister Black, Miss Evans, Mister Potter, Miss Halliwell, detention," Dumbledore said. He was now standing next to Lily, and he was not happy. "Follow me."

Lily cast a fierce look at Black and Potter, who threw their own looks back at her. Silently, the whole group followed Dumbledore as he walked out of the Great Hall.

Lily groaned inwardly. _Here it comes_, she thought moodily. _A lecture. _

Little did she know, much more was awaiting her.


	10. Phoebe and the Dead End

They—that is, Lily, Potter, Black, and Piper—sat in Dumbledore's office, waiting for Dumbledore to reappear. He had disappeared into his quarters, likely in order to bang his head against the wall. He had been through this routine a frustrating number of times. Lily could sympathize, but she had no desire to change.

Piper was seated to her right. She didn't look any better than she had a few moments ago. Every time she blinked, tears would fall from her eyes. She was very quiet: it seemed that she had lost the ability to speak. Every once in a while, she would look around, as if to confirm that she was where she was. Each confirmation brought a fresh wave of tears and a small sniffle. Lily felt guilty—this was all her fault. Piper had been trying to stop her, and that had gotten her implicated.

Potter and Black weren't helping. Potter kept looking at Piper and rolling his eyes, and Black kept nodding in agreement with the silent judgment. Lily could see that Piper was aware of this, though she didn't acknowledge them. Lily got fed up and hissed, "Cut it out!"

Piper jumped and hurriedly brushed her tears away. "Sorry," she whispered.

"No, not you, Piper," Lily assured her in a soft voice. "Potter."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Evans," Potter pompously said. "And if you think that the snakeheads is all we have in store for you, you are sorely mistaken."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Good to know," she airily replied.

"Don't believe me?"

Lily locked eyes with Potter. "I believe that nothing you can do can be considered payback. You were naked in front of the whole school. What could possibly compare?"

Potter smirked. "Don't underestimate great minds, Evans."

"I don't. So I'm not worried about you."

Abruptly, Piper jumped out of her seat and spun around to face the three mischief-makers. "Just stop it!" she yelled. "You think it's really funny, but it's not! I was trying to stop you, and now I'm being dragged down by this madness!"

Black arched an eyebrow. "Well, well. Maybe she has some fire after all. And you're saying you tried to stop this? You're on her side," he said, nodding toward Lily.

Piper, fed up, froze Black's mouth. Lily began to laugh, but then Piper froze her mouth. Piper waited for Potter to say something. He was quiet a moment.

"Not so innocent now, are—"

His words were cut short, and his mouth froze forming the "we". Angrily, Piper plopped down and crossed her arms.

Her anger faded somewhat as Dumbledore entered the room. He still looked angry, but that didn't worry Lily. The fact that her mouth was frozen open, however, did. "What happened here?" the headmaster asked, gazing at the oddly positioned mouths.

"I didn't want to hear them," Piper said timidly.

"I see." Dumbledore's tone was solemn. "Please undo it."

Piper obliged, her hands trembling a little. Lily didn't feel quite as bad for her.

"I am displeased," began Dumbledore. "Very displeased. Your behavior today was beyond inappropriate. You are abusing a sacred art, and though karma may work for you now, it will eventually turn back on you." He gave Lily a long look. "You three have been training for a long time. You have known each other your entire lives. I do not understand why you must torture each other."

"Torture is a very harsh word," Potter interjected, adding, "sir," as an afterthought.

"It is the right word," Dumbledore replied. "You do all that you can to make each other miserable. Dark forces will take advantage of that."

Lily chose to speak up. "But sir, Hogwarts is completely safe. Dark forces can't get to us here."

"Where there is a will, Miss Evans, there is a way. Don't you see?" Dumbledore adjusted his half-moon glasses, his eyes tired.

"Not really."

"You, Mister Potter, Mister Black, and Mister Lupin. Four. There are four Charmed Ones, and they are here now. Four houses in Hogwarts. You _must_ see." Dumbledore's words were urgent, but Lily still didn't see. "Four Charmed Ones, and they are in the four houses. They are—" Dumbledore canceled his words suddenly, disappointing Piper. "They are balanced."

"But we're not," Black said. "She's in Ravenclaw, and we're all in Gryffindor."

Dumbledore sighed heavily. "You don't understand. I suppose that can wait. Leo, you may come in now."

A whitelighter appeared in the room. He was a fairly handsome man, and Lily noted that Piper blushed when she saw him.

"Piper, meet your new whitelighter, Leo Wyatt. You were meant to meet him later, but…" Dumbledore trailed off.

"Hi," Piper said, standing. She shook his hand, and Leo smiled—a bit grimly.

"I wish we could have met under different circumstances," Leo said.

This statement made Piper remember her imminent doom, and when she sat again, she had lost the brief happiness Leo's attractive presence had inspired.

"Let me guess," Potter said. "You're disappointed in us too. I'll bet everybody Up There is disappointed."

"Are we supposed to be proud?" Leo responded, challenging Potter's arrogance with a hard gaze. "Patty wanted to come, but the Elders decided to address her. They aren't pleased with the way her charges are acting. In fact, they've suggested that maybe Patty can't handle looking after all her daughters and you four. They might stop her from seeing her daughters ever again."

Lily heard Piper's small gasp. Okay, some of that guilt was returning.

"Do you want that?" Leo asked Potter.

"The Elders would never do that," Potter replied.

"Yes, they would," Piper said. "They did it after she died, and there was no reason for that. Now they have a reason."

"You know, you don't need to scare Piper," Lily said. "She had nothing to do with this. Don't punish her."

"I realize that she was trying to stop you," Dumbledore said, "but the fact is that she is getting involved. She will get caught in the crossfire, and I can guarantee that the other Charmed Ones will as well. You are a great source of power, and magic draws magic. It is a pull none of them will be able to resist."

Potter and Black read into that statement certain other meanings, and they looked pleased.

Dumbledore motioned for Leo to take over. "You already know that Voldemort is gaining power," Leo said. "His Death Eaters are becoming bolder. Their mark is being seen more, and the most important wizards and witches are being killed. Lily, you faced a Death Eater. You would have died if Phoebe hadn't had a vision."

Though Lily didn't notice, a shade of concern passed over Potter's face. It arose quickly and faded quickly, but anyone could have seen it.

"Do you know why he came to your house?" Leo asked Lily.

"To kill me?"

"Yes, but there's something else." Leo paused, and when Lily remained silent, he provided the answer. "You have a book of shadows."

"So? Every witch has a book of shadows," Lily said. "Mine isn't the Book of Shadows. It only has the spells I've made."

"You'd be amazed what a demon can do with a witch's book of shadows. He can read it backwards, and all your vanquishes would be undone. It would undo the good you've done."

"Oh," Lily muttered, now uncomfortable.

"Still," Black said, "Hogwarts is safe. We've never had a demon or Death Eater show up here. They can't get in."

"They can't get in while good magic rules," Leo said. "Your internal battles weaken you, and your magic does impact on the safety of Hogwarts. If you continue to fight each other, you may find yourself having to fight demons in class. And if the Charmed Ones become involved, nearly all the protection will be gone."

"Wait. You're predicting Armageddon based on Medusa spells and toad-breath curses?" Potter said. "They're harmless."

"No," Leo responded. "They're not. They can do an amazing amount of damage. You're starting to hate each other."

"I don't hate Evans," Potter said dismissively.

"Well, I hate you," Lily said.

"Lily, you're thinking of a petty kind of hate," Leo pointed out. "The kind of hate I'm talking about is deep. It's the kind of hate that turns good witches evil. You give each other no peace, and each spell gets a little more dangerous. Those snakes did have fangs, didn't they? You want to hurt each other."

Lily scoffed. "I don't want to hurt him. I just want to humiliate him. Is that so bad?"

"When's the last time you worked together without fighting?" Leo questioned.

"We've done that plenty of times," Black said.

"But when was the last time?"

"Well…" Black thought. "Didn't James give Lily the gift of silence last Christmas?"

"No," Potter said. "That was the curse of silence."

"Oh, yes. That was a fun Christmas."

"I liked the part where I shoved the mistletoe up your nose, Black," Lily added, smiling. "As I recall, you sneezed leaves for the rest of the week."

"What about that thing Remus did for Lily?" Black said.

"Yeah… Didn't he threaten us into silence?" Potter continued.

"And I believe he tied us up."

"That was me," Lily reminded them.

"Ah, now I remember," Potter said, smirking. "Kinky."

"Do you see?" Lily said to Leo. "Do you see why I have to curse him? He is a pervert."

Piper blushed. "Lily, I really don't want to freeze your mouth again, but this is getting very uncomfortable."

"Sorry, Piper."

"You know that what you're doing is pointless," Leo said. "You think it's funny, but they don't. The Elders control your powers, and they might take them away. Sirius, you've been abusing your power for quite some time. It's not a way to find the right things to say to girls. James, you aren't a conjurer because it impresses people. And Lily, though you've used your remote viewing in a pure way, you take advantage of your talent for potion making. This can't go on."

"We need you to realize the severity of this situation," Dumbledore told them. "You are not as safe as you once were. This year is going to be very different. Your training will continue throughout the year."

"What?" Lily exclaimed. "We're taking classes. We don't need extra training."

"Yes, you do," Dumbledore said. "This won't be the training you're used to. The Charmed Ones will be joining you."

"Well. Now things are getting interesting," Potter commented. "When will this be happening?"

"Wednesdays," Dumbledore answered. "You will be told the time and place later."

Lily found the secrecy strange, but she didn't question it. "Shouldn't Lupin be here? Where is Lupin, anyway?"

"He wasn't feeling well," Potter said easily. "He's in the hospital wing."

"He certainly does get sick a lot," Lily said. "The way he's going, he won't have to worry about Death Eaters or demons."

"He just doesn't eat right," Black said. "All that chocolate."

"Remus, you know, is the least troublesome of your four," Leo said. "He can actually control himself. You should try to be like him."

"Remus," Potter declared, "does not know how to have fun."

Leo gave up on that point. "One more thing."

"Two, actually," Dumbledore said.

"The Elders don't trust you with your magic." Leo opened his hand, and a swirl of blue orbs appeared. They became a pile of odd necklaces. "These are sensing crystals. They will sense when and why you use your magic. You are required to wear them."

"Excuse me?" Black said. "You're tracking us?"

"We're not going to wear those," Potter said.

"You don't have a choice," Leo replied. With that, the four necklaces flew out of Leo's hand. One, surprisingly, slipped down over Piper's head. Leo noticed her surprise and explained, "The Elders fear that the Charmed Ones will be influenced by this fight. It's a precaution."

Piper accepted this in silence.

Lily wasn't as ready to accept this. "So the Elders don't trust us at all? They won't even give us a warning?"

"This is your warning. In the next step, they'll take your powers."

Potter and Black were struggling to remove the necklaces. "You can't do this!" Potter growled, getting out his wand to zap the necklace.

"Yes, they can," Dumbledore said. "Detention, by the way, is with Mister Filch tonight. I believe the trophies need to be cleaned."

"Cleaning?" Piper squeaked.

"Your detention is canceled, Miss Halliwell. I reacted a bit hastily."

Relief washed the anxiety off Piper's pale face, and she actually smiled as she looked at the necklace. "Now Phoebe won't be able to send Paige flying through the air."

"My God. She's happy to have these things," Potter muttered. He looked positively revolted.

Despite Piper's earlier show of courage, the bespectacled girl turned her eyes down. Lily knew the comment stung.

Purposefully, Lily looked at Leo. "And you want me to let him go on his merry way. I hope you like seeing people get hurt, Mister Wyatt, because that's all Potter does." Ignoring the fact that she had not been dismissed, Lily got up and left. The Elders didn't understand human life, and that Leo Wyatt wasn't much better.

* * *

"You can't do this!" Phoebe yelled, tearing at the necklace. It refused to come off. Phoebe glared at Leo and continued her assault on the sensing crystal. 

"I've been hearing that all day, Phoebe," Leo calmly responded. "And yet, all eight of you are still wearing them."

"This is complete bullshit," Phoebe spat.

"Phoebe! Watch your language," Prue said.

Phoebe scowled at her. "How many times do we have to go through this? You're not my mother, Prue!"

Paige was standing back, trying to avoid all the action. She did not want Phoebe to turn her wrath on her. Piper seemed to be taking a similar route.

"Phoebe, Prue may not be your mother, but she does care about you," Leo said. "And please, stop yelling."

"Who do you think you are? I don't even know you, and you're telling me what to do." Phoebe stared at Leo distastefully. "No one tells me what to do."

"I am your whitelighter. I'm here to guide you, whether you want me to or not."

Phoebe turned toward the door. "I am out of here."

"No, you're not." Prue held up her hand, holding the door closed. "You can't keep running."

"Says the girl who can't even face the fact that she's a Slytherin." Phoebe looked back at Prue, her eyes filled with anger. "I've seen you, Prue. I've seen the way you walk through this school. Everything you see makes you sick. You can't touch your wand without flinching. Magic has made you into a Slytherin, and you can't stand it, because it means that something inside you isn't perfect. Well I'm sorry, Prue, but you're not perfect. Does that make you sick? Do you think you're going to end up like mom?"

Prue's breathing had grown shallow. She was lowering her hand, and this scared Paige. She had never seen Prue like this before. She wasn't strong. Phoebe was making her weak.

"Maybe you will end up like mom, Prue," Phoebe went on. "Maybe you're going to try to prove that you're stronger than she was, and maybe you'll end up leaving us. Maybe…" Phoebe's breaths were short and painful. "You'll abandon us like she did."

Paige pressed her hands over her ears. But Phoebe's words wouldn't leave her head.

Paige saw Prue start to wave her hand, and she heard Leo's muffled "No!" She saw as Leo caught Prue before she could do whatever harm she had intended to do. Slowly, Paige uncovered her ears.

Phoebe had a twisted smile on her face. "You were going to use your power against me. I think the sorting hat was right. You are evil."

"I am not evil," Prue choked out.

Phoebe just shrugged and left the room.

Leo did not let go of Prue's hand. "Never," he said in an unsteady voice, "use your powers against each other. Ever." He then released Prue, who did not move. "I didn't realize that your troubles ran so deep. I have to consult the Elders." He orbed out.

Prue sank to her knees, shaking. Paige and Piper could both feel the energy loss. They knew that something was wrong.

"What's happening to us?" Piper said, speaking the question they all had inside.

"The Power of Four is breaking," Prue murmured.

"Leo was right," Piper said. "As soon as I interfered in Lily's feud, we weakened."

"How can we fix this?" Paige asked. Her big sisters had no answer to offer her. Once again, Paige felt afraid.

* * *

"Idiot," Phoebe hissed as she walked down the hall. She was referring to Leo. "He actually thinks he can help us?" She enjoyed a bitter laugh and yanked at the unmoving necklace. "They think they can stop me from doing what I want?" One crystal couldn't stop her from using her power. They had forced magic on her, and now they wanted to control it? No. That was not going to happen. 

Phoebe turned down another hallway, not even paying attention to where she was going. This hall had a surprising number of portraits, and most of them were too cheery for Phoebe's taste.

"I say," a little girl in a yellow dress called. "Where do you think you're going? You can't be here."

"Shove it," Phoebe replied.

Phoebe didn't stop for her reaction, but she did hear the sound of crying echo down the hall.

"You're a very rude girl," a woman with a wooden spoon said. "If you were my child, I'd give you a sound beating."

"You're made of paint. With a few chemicals, I could erase you," Phoebe informed her.

"Well! I never!"

"No wonder," Phoebe said, looking the woman up and down.

"See here, young lady," a wizened old man said. "You can't come down this hall. It's forbidden."

"Turn back!" howled a man who looked like he had just stepped out of a Shakespearian play. "Nothing but misery awaits you!"

"Please, please do not continue on," three women pleaded in sync. "You do not understand what is ahead."

"I'll find out what's awaiting when I bloody get there!" Phoebe screamed, about ready to blast all these paintings to smithereens.

At this point, all the animals in all the paintings began to bark and yowl and squawk. The noise was unbearable. Phoebe began to run down the hall, her fingers shoved in her ears. "La la la la la la! I can't hear you!"

Finally, Phoebe reached the end of the hall. It was a dead-end. Phoebe stopped, blinking. "It's a dead-end?" She turned to face the portraits, which were still shouting warnings. "There's nothing but a painting here!" It wasn't even a very good painting. It was a clumsy image of a sunrise. That was all.

Deeply insulted, Phoebe invented some new swear words specifically for the painting. To finish it off, Phoebe stuck out her tongue out at it.

Out of nowhere, a gray mist appeared. It surrounded Phoebe, blocking out the castle hall. Before Phoebe could do anything, something grabbed her arm. She struggled to free herself, crying, "What's going on?"

"You knew this day would come."

That voice… It was a man's voice, and it was so familiar. "Who are you?" Phoebe whispered. Dread was crushing her, for she knew that she was in great danger.

"How could you?" a woman's voice sobbed. "I trusted you."

The invisible hand forced Phoebe to the ground. "I trusted you!" the man roared. "I devoted myself to you, and you—"

Phoebe doubled over as a searing pain pierced her stomach. It felt like she had been stabbed, but she wasn't bleeding.

"No!" the man yelled.

Then, the mist was gone. Phoebe stayed still, not daring to move. The pain was gone. It was over. Phoebe held on to the wall and pulled herself up. Her legs were weak and her knees were shaking, but she had no stab wound. Sucking in deep breaths, Phoebe looked up at the paintings. The nearest one was of an old woman using a loom.

"What happened?" Phoebe asked her. "What was that?"

The old woman barely glanced at Phoebe. "We warned you about that."

"But what was that?"

"That," the woman said matter-of-factly, "was a bad reaction to a dark secret." The woman paused. "Never touch that painting, child. Your hands tell the secrets, don't they?"

Phoebe was confused. It took her a moment to understand what the crone meant. "You mean my premonitions?"

The woman nodded. "This is a secret that is dead, and the dead must not talk."

Phoebe didn't look back at the painting. She walked as quickly as her weak legs would allow. She was far past the crone's painting when she heard the crone add, "But sometimes they do, don't they?"

Shivering, Phoebe pretended she hadn't heard anything and found her way back to the room she had run from. When she opened the door, she found that her sisters had left. She tried to think of where they could be, but it was like the mist was still in her, surrounding her mind. "Prue," she whispered. "Piper. Paige. I need you."

"Phoebe?"

Phoebe whirled around. Piper was standing in the doorway. "What's wrong?" Piper asked.

"I just saw—something. I don't know what it was."

Piper didn't look like she had heard Phoebe. "We're going to be roommates."

"Piper, listen to me. I—what?"

"Leo has decided that we should stay together as much as possible," Piper explained. "We're going to be sharing a room. All four of us."

Phoebe barely recognized that there was meaning behind Piper's words. "That has to wait. There was a gray mist, Piper, and these voices. I felt trapped. And the pain. It hurt so much. I've never felt so afraid."

This brought Piper down to Earth. "You saw a gray mist?"

"Yeah. I was in a forbidden hallway, and it appeared out of nowhere."

"Phoebe," Piper said slowly, "Prue and I have also seen a gray mist. We heard a voice. The voice I heard sounded like me."

Phoebe was stunned. "I heard two voices. The first voice was a man's voice. The second voice…" Phoebe stopped. "Piper, the second voice was my voice."

"The painting is dangerous," Piper muttered.

Phoebe's heart jumped into her throat. "How did you know that?"

"That's what the voice said to me."

"I just saw a painting," Phoebe said. "The painting set this off. Do you know what this is?"

"No, but I think Dumbledore and mom do. You need to tell them."

With unusual sobriety, Phoebe corrected her: "We all need to talk to them."

Piper didn't seem thrilled about the prospect. "Maybe we should only talk to mom."

"No," Phoebe said. "Dumbledore needs to know."

"Well, we're going to have a hard time finding Prue. She's gone, and I don't know where she's gone."

"We'll find her." Phoebe was starting to get impatient: Piper still wasn't moving.

But Piper's eyes held a strange light. "We don't need Dumbledore. We need the Book of Shadows."

**A/N: now that you're over the shock, how about you click that little review button? I swear it doesn't hurt. In fact, it feels great. So what are you waiting for? Review! **


	11. One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

**A/N: I didn't think that this chapter was too terribly bad, but I guess I was wrong. I worked on it, and I hope that the new version is more reviewable. Tell me what you think. **

**Of course, I still thank Masha Malfoy, Girl007, Anassa aldara, Lady of the Lake12, Harry-Potter&charmed-4-ever, Whocareswhatmynameis, RedemptionOfHope, and Danielle503 for reviewing the last chapter. **

It was dark here—so very dark. The Forbidden Forest was no place to be at night. It was no place to be at all. But at the moment, it felt like the only place Prue deserved to be.

Prue was crouched on the forest floor, her back against a tree, her knees pulled close to her chest. She had seen Paige often adopt this pose, and she had hoped that it was comforting. It wasn't. It didn't make the tears or the horror retreat, but she didn't move. She didn't have the energy, or the reason. Where could she go? She softly repeated this question to herself. Having no answer, she turned back to her self-condemnation.

She had almost hurt Phoebe. She had nearly used her powers against Phoebe. Worse than that, though, and the thing that stuck in her head the most, was the fact that she had wanted to hurt Phoebe. And it was all because Phoebe had spoken the truth.

"No," Prue muttered. "No. It is not true. It is not true!" She yelled the last words into the darkness of the forest. There was an echo, followed by an eerie silence. Prue listened to the silence for a moment. In that moment, she felt nothing and thought nothing.

But it was only a moment. The thoughts and feelings returned to her, more jumbled and tumultuous than before. She was evil—no! She wasn't; she couldn't be. She was a bad sister—oh God, why had she done that? She had promised herself she'd protect them. And for so long, she had. Now, she was a threat to them.

She closed her eyes, and she saw Phoebe's eyes. They were so knowing. Prue could see their gaze, even now. Cold, hard—knowing. It was frightening how far that gaze reached. It penetrated more than just Prue's soul; it reached deep, deep into the memories and secrets and lies that Prue couldn't even look at.

That was what had driven her to the point of using her powers. Not the words, though they had helped. It was that look. But that didn't justify anything—she could have looked away. She could have ended it so easily.

"Blimey!"

Surprise took a blind kick at Prue's heart, sending it into a fury of beating. She jumped up and turned to face her verbal assailant. It was Hagrid.

"What are yeh doin' out 'ere?" Hagrid asked, raising his lantern. Fang approached Prue and sniffed her vigorously.

"I was… just thinking," she said lamely.

"Thinkin'?" Hagrid's eyebrows shot up. "Forbidden Forest isn't much o' a place ter go ter think, Prue. Could get yeh in a spot o' trouble, in fact."

Prue studied a broken twig near her foot. "Has it?"

"Well—no. I wouldn' turn yeh in. Yeh may be a Slytherin, but I know the Halliwell in yeh's stronger."

The infuriating word hit Prue's ear. She clenched her teeth, and at that same moment, the twig caught on fire. "I'm sorry!" Prue stomped out the flames. "I didn't know I could…" Tears, summoned by the apology on her tongue, stopped her words. She tried to hold them back, but couldn't.

"Prue." Hagrid placed his heavy hand on her shoulder. "What's the matter? What 'appened ter yeh?"

The forest was nothing but a wet blur, and Prue's mouth was useful for nothing but her gasping attempts to breathe steadily. She sobbed and shook. Her legs wavered and then gave out, leaving her on her knees.

Was Hagrid speaking? Was she still in the forest? Was anything at all happening?

----------

"But we need it," Phoebe insisted, trying to get around her grandmother.

Grams continued to block her way. "Absolutely not. I can't trust you with the Book of Shadows."

"Grams, something weird is happening," Piper said.

"So tell me about it."

"We will," Phoebe said. "Later. Now, we need to do it ourselves. It's the Power of Four, Grams."

Grams laughed. "Oh, you can't fool me, Phoebe. I know you." She looked at Piper. "I'm surprised that you're going along with this, though."

"It's true," Piper replied.

Phoebe gave up on out-maneuvering Grams. "Piper, go find Paige and Prue."

"What if I can't find Prue?"

"You have to."

Piper considered Phoebe, then left.

Grams's eyes narrowed. "What happened to Prue?" she asked. "If you did something to her…"

"I didn't," Phoebe said tiredly. "Grams, save the lecture: I've heard a million times what a screw-up I am." She paused. "Right now, I know that something is wrong. And I know what I need to fix it. I need my sisters and I need the Book of Shadows. I don't understand this. I don't understand magic or the Power of Four or any of this stuff, but I am positive that what I'm feeling right now is the Power of Four. So please, give me the book."

Grams stared. "I've never seen you like this." She then smiled and turned to the stand on which the Book of Shadows rested. "Your acting has improved remarkably. Too bad this isn't theater school." Facing Phoebe, she placed her hands protectively on the Book.

Phoebe wanted to scream at Grams, but she forced herself to remain calm. "Please." She spoke only that word. Then she gave herself over to the agony of silence.

Grams took a step back, as though she needed a more complete view of her granddaughter. Her fingers slipped to the very edge of the Book, and she again stared. "You're serious, aren't you?"

"Yes."

For a minute, Phoebe didn't think Grams was going to give her the book. Yet she gathered the large book in her arms, murmuring, "Be careful with it, Phoebe." She took three careful steps toward Phoebe, stopped, and squeezed the book slightly. "It holds hundreds of years of magic and history."

Phoebe accepted the book. "I won't screw this up."

----------

"'Ere yeh go," Hagrid cheerily said as he placed a cup of tea before Prue.

"Thank you," Prue said, placing her chilled hands on the warm cup. She was feeling steadier now; Hagrid's hut was comfortable and secure. However, her steadiness had its drawbacks: she was conscious of the fact that she had broken down and that Hagrid had witnessed it all. She felt compelled to apologize, but she feared what another apology might do to her.

Hagrid sat down across from her. "Yeh wan' ter tell me what 'appened?"

Prue drew in a painful breath and moved her hands off the cup. "I don't think you'd understand."

"Are yeh sure abou' tha'?" He patted Fang's head. "I bin 'ere fer quite some time, an' I've seen students do a lot o' bad stuff. I don' think yeh could do anythin' tha' would shock me."

Prue shook her head. "This would." Her hands were restless, but she had nothing to do with them. Fang, perhaps sensing her predicament, wandered over to her and lay his head in her lap. She stroked his fur; the tension in her hands dissipated. "Hagrid," she said and looked up at him. "You've been here a while. In all your time here, did you ever meet a decent Slytherin?"

He shifted. "Well, there's you, o' course."

"There must be someone else that you can think of." She leaned forward; her fingers left Fang's sleek neck.

Hagrid's brow was furrowed in thought. "Ah… Well, there was… No, no. Mighta bin… Er, no. Hmm…" He sighed. "I'm sorry, Prue, but I can' think o' one."

"Not even one," she murmured to herself. She slumped back, and Fang nuzzled her hand. She gave him a feeble pat. "I shouldn't have come to Hogwarts."

"Merlin's beard, yeh shouldn' say tha'," Hagrid said and slapped the table, shaking Prue's teacup. "Yer a Halliwell! Yer gonna be one o' the best witches there ever was! Yeh belong 'ere, Prue."

Prue was about to protest when someone began banging on the door. "Prue! Prue! Are you in there?"

"Piper?" Prue rose and opened the door. Piper grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the hut. "What are you doing?" Prue yelped as her younger sister dragged her across the lawn.

"What's goin' on?" Hagrid called from the doorway.

"Sorry, Hagrid, but we need her," Piper called back, her face drawn with fear. She was breathing hard, and her grip on Prue's arm was painful.

Prue wrenched her arm out of Piper's hand and stopped. "What are you doing?" she repeated.

Piper stopped. Slowly, she turned her head from side to side. Her gaze then settled on Prue. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Shh! Listen."

Crickets chirped, frogs croaked, and an owl hooted. "I don't—"

"Here it comes again," Piper whispered, her eyes wide with fear.

Prue listened and heard—nothing. Everything was still. The owl, frogs, and crickets had all fallen silent; all Prue could hear was Piper's labored breath. Then, the silence shattered, and a voice echoed through the air. "_Væe victis_," it intoned. "_Væe victis_. _Væe victis_."

Prue shuddered. "What is that?" Though the voice was unthreatening, it chilled Prue.

Piper glanced around. "I don't know. But we need to get back to the castle." She started to run toward the castle. Prue followed. The words were still being spoken, but they faded once she and Piper entered the castle.

"How did you know where I was?" Prue quietly asked. Piper had stopped running, but her pace was still brisk.

"I didn't," she said, checking over her shoulder. "James did."

"James? As in James Potter? How did _he _know?"

"I don't know," Piper impatiently replied. "He was in the hall, and I asked him. He first said he had no idea, and then he said you were with Hagrid."

"That's really strange," Prue muttered. How could he have known that? Had he been wandering the grounds? Had he been following her? Whatever he had been doing, Prue trusted that he'd been up to no good.

"We've got stranger stuff going on, Prue," Piper said. She stopped suddenly in front of a man's portrait. "Kit-kat." The painting swung open, and Piper tugged Prue through. "This is our new room," she said before Prue could ask.

Prue took stock of the area, noting that all of their things had been moved into the room. "We're sharing a room?"

"Yeah," Phoebe said. She was sitting on her bed, a large book in her lap. Paige was perched next to her, cautiously looking over her shoulder. Phoebe was obviously too absorbed in the book to notice her.

Prue held her breath for a moment. A long exhalation parted her lips, and she mouthed meaningless words. "Phoebe." Somehow, that word slipped through. Prue tried to think of something more to say, but nothing seemed adequate. But she had to say something—she had to make up for what she had done. "I'm so sorry, Phoebe. I can't believe what I did."

Phoebe looked up from the book. "Okay. So did you hear the voice? _Væe victis_?"

Prue blinked. Phoebe didn't have a snide remark to hurl at her? Or at least a sneer to share? No, Phoebe's face remained passive. This was getting stranger by the second. "Um… yeah. I heard it as we were going from Hagrid's to the castle."

"I heard it as I was going down the hall," said Phoebe. "Paige and Piper heard it when they were coming back here."

Paige piped up: "Actually, I've heard it before."

Phoebe turned to Paige, who cowered. "When?" she asked.

Puzzlement appeared on Paige's face, but she managed to answer. "After I was sorted," she responded. "It sort of sighed in my ear. I thought it was just one of the students."

Phoebe frowned and slid the book off her lap. "It's not just this night. But that mist didn't appear on the same day, either." She then stood and began to pace. "What connects them?"

"Wait," said Prue. "You saw a mist?"

Phoebe nodded. "I went down a dead end, and I saw a painting. Out of nowhere, a gray mist appeared. I heard a woman crying, and then there was this man saying how he had trusted her, and then it felt like someone stabbed me." She placed her hand on her midsection and stopped pacing. "Then it was over."

"Did Piper tell you—"

"Yeah. I've been looking through the Book, and—"

Prue interrupted her, "What book?"

Phoebe glanced at her. "The Book of Shadows. You know, the Halliwell book. Anyway, I've been looking, and I can't find anything about ghostly voices. There's plenty about ghosts, but no ghost voices or ghost scenes."

Intrigued, Prue walked over to the Book and picked it up. "What does it say about ghosts?"

"Just that you either have to have their bones or be dead to do anything about them." She put her fingers to her temples and closed her eyes. "God, I was so sure that this would work."

"No, I was the one who was so sure," Piper said. "Maybe you were right about telling Dumbledore."

"Hey, I think I found something," Prue said.

Piper, Phoebe, and Paige crowded around her. "How to summon a spirit, eh?" Phoebe said. "That sounds like it could work." She turned to her trunk and pulled out a few candles. "Good thing Grams made us bring these."

"Put them in a circle and light them," Prue instructed. "Perfect. I think we all need to say this incantation. Ready?"

Together, they began to read, "Here these words. Hear my cry spirit from the other side. Come to me, I summon thee. Cross now the Great Divide."

The candles flicked slightly, but no spirit appeared. "Again?" Phoebe suggested.

They read it once more, with the same result. Prue flipped through the book, but she could find nothing else. "Let's just call mom," she said.

Piper was about to do so when the candles went out and all the light in the room began to fade.

"Did it work?" Paige asked.

The hair on the back of Prue's neck was standing up. Acting on instinct, she put down the Book, got out her wand, and pushed her sisters behind her. "Is someone there?"

The candles suddenly flew in different directions, each hitting a wall. A tremendous wind ripped through the room, throwing around anything that was not firmly attached to the floor. Prue flew up into the air and was driven into the wall; Phoebe and Piper clung to the bedposts. Paige was tossed against the wardrobe and hit her head on the corner. The portrait burst open; the wind drained out into the hall; and the sisters crashed to the ground. Prue landed on her knee, and furious pain temporarily immobilized her.

"Paige!" Prue dragged herself over to Paige and found that she had been knocked out. "Paige, wake up."

"Oh my God." Piper knelt beside her. "She's bleeding. Oh God, oh God."

"Mom!" Phoebe screamed. "Mom, you got to get down here! Mom!"

Piper jumped up. "She's still with the Elders!"

"Why the hell is she with them?" Phoebe demanded. "Mom!"

"It's James, Lily, and Sirius. The Elders don't like how they're acting," Piper said.

"Leo," Prue murmured. "We need Leo."

Before Prue could call his name, he appeared in the room. "You used a spell," Leo said as he materialized. "You tried to summon a spirit." He then noticed Paige, and his eyes went wide with worry. "What happened?" He knelt down and put his hands over her wound.

The sisters didn't bother to answer. They only spoke after the wound had closed and Paige's eyes opened.

"Paige! Are you all right?" Piper asked.

"Yeah," she said and sat up. She blinked blearily. "What happened? Did it appear?"

"That's a good question," Leo said. He had shifted from worry to anger. "Did a spirit appear, girls? And just who were trying to summon?"

No one spoke. Prue placed her hands on the floor and tried to push up into a standing position, but pain shot through her leg and caused her to collapse, gasping. She squeezed her eyes shut, and when she opened them, Leo was there, healing her.

"Who attacked you?" It seemed like he addressed the question to Prue, though she knew they were all being questioned.

She glanced at her sisters. Piper simply looked scared, and Phoebe shook her head. "I don't know." She stood when she was able and helped Paige to her feet.

His eyes connected with hers. "Was it a demon? A Death Eater? What did it look like?"

"It didn't look like anything," Prue replied.

He crossed his arms. "How could that be?"

They were again silent.

"You can't do this," Leo said. "Don't you understand?" His arms sprang open and he gestured toward the ceiling. "They will take your powers if you can't handle magic. And I'm beginning to think that you can't. What you did earlier…" His eyes were trained on Prue, and she felt the full impact of his gaze. "I am your whitelighter, and I am here to guide you. But I can't help you unless you trust me."

Prue consulted her sisters with her eyes. "We've been hearing a ghost voice." She told him most of the tale, leaving out her retreat to the forest. "We were trying to make the Power of Four work, but we couldn't."

Leo's expression had calmed from anger to concern. "You should have called me. This doesn't sound like something you four can handle."

"Then what's the use of the Power of Four?" Phoebe burst out. "What good is it if we have to come running to you all the time?"

Prue saw the start of a disaster. "Phoebe, don't do this," she pleaded.

"You're not trained," said Leo. "You have to be patient."

"You want us to trust you. Why should we trust you when you don't trust us?" Phoebe tugged at her necklace. "You don't believe in us. Why should we do this?" She threw her arms up and turned toward the portrait. "You know, I tried. I really did. But there is no Power of Four. It doesn't exist."

"Phoebe," Leo began.

"No." She pushed the portrait open and walked out. "I can't believe I let myself get caught up in this."

"You have to go after her," Leo said. "She can't be alone, not with an unidentified evil on the loose."

Prue was completely drained, but she nodded. "You're right. I'll find her and bring her back." She moved toward the portrait, pausing before she opened it. "She was so close," she said to no one in particular.

"What do you mean?" asked Leo.

Prue half-smiled. "You wouldn't understand. After all, you think we're a lost cause." Before he could answer, she exited the room and started down the hall.


	12. Let Go

**A/N: I'm back, and I hope that I can do some major work on this story in the next few weeks. I'm going to try; just have patience.**

**charmedgirl-alyssaphoebe: Thanks for the review.**

**Poseidon's Chickadee: Thank you many times over for reviewing. As for P/L… well, I have a special twist on that. You'll see.**

He was waiting for her when she entered the Forbidden Forest. The Seer had never seen him happy, but tonight, he looked particularly annoyed.

Her assessment of his mood was proven true when he spoke. "You're late, Seer." It was impressive how he managed to express such displeasure in a mere four syllables.

"Relax, Sullivan," the Seer said. "The whitelighter showed up. He wanted to check in with me." She frowned as she thought of the encounter. "It wasn't supposed to be this complicated, you know. The Dark Lord made it seem like Rhiannon came from nowhere. She wasn't supposed to have a whitelighter and a famous dead mother."

"It was fully necessary, I am sure. There's only so much background that can be forged." With an impatient wave of his hand, Sullivan dismissed her concerns. "What have you learned?"

The Seer shrugged. "They're teenagers. They like to fight with each other, and they like to abuse magic."

"Who shows the greatest potential?"

The Seer gazed off into the darkness of the forest. "Phoebe, I suppose," she said after a moment's contemplation. "She's an angry girl, and she's not keen on the Power of Four. Although…" She stopped, recalling something that she had picked up from Phoebe. "Prue may also be easy to get to. She's a Slytherin, and apparently she's a little paranoid about being evil."

Sullivan contemplated this silently, then nodded to show his approval. "Do you have anything more?"

"Not right now."

After warning her to remain vigilant, Sullivan disapparated with a crack. The Seer was left alone in the rapidly fading daylight. "You're welcome," she muttered to the air as she turned and started to trudge out of the forest. The journey out seemed more difficult than the journey in had been; she found herself struggling more with the overgrown grass and the impeding branches. Was it her imagination, or was the foliage more unruly than it ought to have been?

She thought of a few demons who had power over nature. Were they having some fun at her expense? She looked around quickly but could see nothing unusual. Then she tripped and fell into a bush, and any concern about demons left her. "Bloody bushes," she growled, pulling her robe out of a branch's grip. Wait—bloody? The Seer blinked, stuck in a half-standing, half-sitting position. She had never used such terminology.

_The witches must be getting to me,_ she concluded and fully extricated herself from the bush.

Indeed, it was true that the witches were getting to her—and not just in the words she used. They were awakening all sorts of… feelings in her. The trust that Phoebe was starting to share with her was… The Seer struggled to find the right word for it, but she was helpless to describe the emotion she felt. Whatever it was, it felt good.

But Phoebe was someone she was going to destroy. Phoebe, Luke, the sisters… they would all have to be destroyed. Trying to deny the feeling that thought awakened in her, the Seer started toward the castle. Her progress, though, was soon to be arrested by one of the objects of her thoughts.

* * *

"Just try again, Paige." 

Paige looked dubiously at her mother. "_Impedimenta_," she said, pointing at one of the various blue lights that were darting around the unused classroom. Unlike the lights near Remus, James, Lily, Piper, Prue, Phoebe, and Sirius, the light before Paige remained mobile.

"Do we really need to draw this out more?" Phoebe asked, swishing her wand absently. "Some of us have things to do."

Patty answered her with a stern glance, then turned back to Paige. "Relax. Feel the magic gathering in you. Believe that the spell will work. When you're ready, say the word."

Paige followed her instructions, trying to ignore all the other people in the room. When she raised her wand, she knew that it would work. "_Impedimenta_." The light stopped moving immediately, and a grin broke out on Paige's face.

"Finally." Phoebe slid off the desk she had been perched on and headed for the exit.

"Wait," Leo said. "You've only done two spells. We really should—"

Patty put her hand up to stop him. "Leo, take a look at them." She gestured toward the boys, who were quietly discussing something devious, and then toward her daughters, who simply looked bored. "We're not getting any more out of them."

Leo wasn't happy, but he acquiesced with a small nod. "They are expected to practice on their own as well, you know."

"I know." Patty suppressed a small smile as he orbed out. Leo was a good man and a good whitelighter, but he still had a lot to learn about teenagers. "You are all free to go," she announced. There was an exodus—Phoebe in the lead, Prue bringing up the rear. "Prue, wait."

Prue stopped and turned around.

"We need to talk." Patty sat down in one of the desks and invited her daughter to sit in an adjacent desk. "Not the most comfortable quarters, but I think it's time we sat down together."

Prue lowered herself into the desk. Dread made her limbs feel heavy and cumbersome; it was an effort just for her to place her hands in her lap. She knew exactly what words would tumble from her mother's mouth next.

"Leo spoke to me about what happened."

She knew they were coming, yet she still felt a measure of shock go through her body as she heard the words. What should she say? _I'm sorry, I can't I believe I did that, I didn't mean to do it, I just saw her eyes and…_ Words ran through her mind, but none moved her mouth to speak. She just stared dumbly at her mother.

Patty sighed and took her daughter's limp hand. "Prue, I am sorry."

"What?" Prue drew her hand back, feeling unworthy of her mother's touch. "I'm the one who's sorry. I just—I…" She placed the heels of her hands against her eyes and picked through the jumble of words in her mind. "I'm so sorry for what I did to Phoebe." When she dropped her hands and connected with her mother's eyes, she found remorse.

"For all these years, I've been telling mom that you girls just needed more time," Patty began, "and she agreed with me. 'They'll be able to handle it better when they're older,' I said. 'They're too young for so much magic and responsibility.' But Prue, I was wrong. The older you girls got, the more dangerous the wizarding world became, and the more used to a normal life you became. I knew that we couldn't keep you girls in the dark much longer. But I kept hanging on.

"If Paige hadn't read the incantation, I don't know when we would have told you. I admit, I was hoping that Voldemort would be defeated before you became witches. But it's clear to me that the Power of Four will be needed—if not to defeat him, then to restore order after he's gone."

Prue waited for a pause, then said, "But what does this have to do with what I did?"

"There is so much pressure on you now," Patty explained. "You're barely used to the idea of magic, yet you have to get ready to take on powers and defeat evils that most witches and wizards will never have to deal with. And you had plans. You had a life; you were going to a great college." Pausing, she smiled. "I'm so proud of all that you did, Prue. You did so wonderfully in school, and you have always been there for your sisters." Her smile slowly faded. "You've been through every Phoebe explosion; you've been through Piper's frequent bouts of self-doubt; you've been through Paige's troubles with Phoebe. And after all that, you're being tested in every way possible. I've seen other witches lose it under less pressure."

"But I did lose it," Prue insisted. "I almost hurt Phoebe, and all she did was tell me that I was—" She stopped, unable to say the word that she feared was true.

"You are not evil. Prue, listen to me." Patty placed her hand on Prue's cheek, wiping away a stray tear with her thumb. "Your powers are tied to your emotions, and Phoebe pushed you to the limit. You've always held in your anger, but your magic doesn't obey the same self-control that your emotions do."

Prue shook her head. "I was put in Slytherin for a reason."

"The houses are neither good nor evil," Patty said. "The houses are neutral, and they have no bearing on whether a student is good or evil. Perhaps if you actually spoke to your fellow Slytherins, you might find that they're not so bad."

"How did you know…" Prue stopped. "Grams noticed that, eh?"

"Of course." Patty smiled again and rose. "Now, I'm sure that you have a life to get back to. Good night, dear." She dropped a kiss on the top of Prue's head.

"Good night, mom."

* * *

The night sky was gorgeous. Phoebe gazed at it as she sailed through the air on a broom she had borrowed from the school. True, they didn't know that she had borrowed it from them, but what they didn't know couldn't hurt them. 

She breathed in deeply, and the vigor of the air spread through her entire body. Feeling the need to make contact with another element, she glided over the lake and skimmed her fingers along the surface. She didn't linger over the lake, though; she had heard that a giant squid inhabited these waters.

On previous nights, she had spent her flying time practicing Quidditch moves, which she had picked up from a library book. Tonight, she simply floated lazily through the air, once or twice giving in to the impulse to do a loop. The Hufflepuff tryouts were tomorrow, and she did not want to encourage her nerves by overpracticing. She had to believe that she was ready.

Still, her faith in herself was not unshakable. Doubt surfaced infrequently, rousing her nerves to full revolt. Yet each time they revolted, Phoebe managed to suppress them, distracting herself with some aspect of the stars, the moon, or the treetops.

"Hey!"

Phoebe whipped her broom around and looked down. "Ray, you scared me," she said as she landed next to her friend.

Rhiannon was smirking. "So this is where you've been going every night." She tapped the handle of the broomstick. "I was hoping it would be a little more scandalous," she said, shaking her finger disapprovingly.

Phoebe smiled back at her. "Sorry to disappoint."

Rhiannon considered her briefly; then, she walked a circle around her. "You," she declared, "are getting a little too good at blocking me out. You're a quick learner."

"Well, knowing that I had a mind-reader and a seer near me motivated me to keep certain things to myself," Phoebe replied.

"Probably a good idea." She paused, and there was a subtle shift in her expression. "Speaking of the mind-reader, what do you know about Sirius Black?"

Phoebe's brow went up. "You want to talk about him here?" she asked, gesturing at their surroundings.

"You're right," Rhiannon quickly said. She seemed uncomfortable; her fingers were curled around the ends of her sleeves, and she kept shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

Phoebe noted these things and debated what she was going to do with the theory she had just produced. She decided to be blunt; it was a style that both she and Rhiannon respected. "Do you like him?"

"Who?"

It was strange how sincerely blank Rhiannon's look was. For a moment, Phoebe thought she might be wrong. "Sirius, of course."

"Oh." Rhiannon's right hand found a new occupation—rubbing the back of her neck. "No. No way." Yet again, Rhiannon changed positions, this time crossing her arms. "What would make you think something so ridiculous?"

"Well, for starters, you haven't stopped moving since we started talking about him," Phoebe said. "And you wanted to have a chat about him out here on the lawn, at night."

"If that's the problem, then let's go inside. And we won't discuss Sirius, okay?" Rhiannon began to move toward the castle.

Phoebe caught up to her with relative ease. "I have to go return this," she told Rhiannon, indicating the broom.

Rhiannon huffed and got out her wand. Phoebe didn't catch the spell, but the next thing she knew, the broom had vanished. "There. No need to thank me." And she continued her determined journey back to the castle.

When they reached the hall where they were to separate, Rhiannon offered one last comment: "I don't get crushes, Phoebe. It just doesn't happen." Her tone was difficult to read, but Phoebe could sense a least a little insecurity.

"Okay. Good night."

Rhiannon disappeared around the corner, then reappeared. "I mean, desire, yes. Not crushes." She withdrew, then returned. "It's not a crush."

"Maybe you should get some rest, Ray," Phoebe suggested.

When she was sure that Rhiannon was actually gone, Phoebe found her way to her bedroom. Prue and Piper were still up, working on some homework. Paige was asleep.

"Where have you been?" Prue asked, her eyes directed toward her work.

"Out."

Prue didn't pursue the topic any further; she didn't even bother to look at Phoebe until she sat down with Prue and Piper and took out some work. "What are you doing?"

"Homework." Phoebe felt the shock coming from her sisters. She, too, was a bit surprised that she was doing work. Oddly enough, she _wanted_ to do homework. She didn't know why—maybe it was the fresh air, or the realization that she was going to have to do well in school and in their extra lessons if she expected to play Quidditch.

All right, so the answer was pretty obvious. Phoebe didn't ponder it for long, though. She had a history essay to finish, and she needed all her brainpower to make up some facts.

* * *

Thursday's classes were hell for Phoebe. She couldn't concentrate—not that she usually concentrated in class—because she couldn't stop thinking of the Quidditch tryouts. She had her eye on a Chaser position, but she was starting to think that she had no chance at it. She had never even been to a Quidditch game, and she had been flying for what, a week? No, this was definitely not going to go well. 

Her distraction did not serve her well in Potions, when she added something to her potion that caused it to blow up in her face. Grams was on her in an instant.

"Phoebe, haven't you been paying attention? You added ashwaganda; you were supposed to add costmary."

"Sorry," Phoebe murmured.

"Luckily, it can be saved." Grams turned to the class. "Can anyone tell me how?"

For a moment, no one moved. Then, Paige timidly raised her hand. "Wouldn't pyrethrum neutralize it?"

"Very good. And then what would be added?"

Paige thought. "Allium?"

"Exactly." Grams smiled proudly. "Ten points to Gryffindor."

Normally, this would have annoyed Phoebe. Today was different, though. Phoebe only obeyed Paige's instructions and pretended that she didn't see failure in her future.

* * *

"Okay, Phoebe, just breathe. Just breeeathe." Phoebe sucked in a deep breath. "I'm going to be fine," she said to herself. "I can do this. I can…" The Quidditch pitch came into view, and her legs suddenly locked up. "Move, Phoebe. You have to—" 

"You're going to be fine, you know," a smooth voice announced from next to her.

Phoebe jumped. "Ray, you got to stop doing that." She fixed her sight on the pitch, willing her legs to move.

"Sorry. But really, you have no reason to worry. You'll be fine."

"How do you know?" Phoebe blurted. Then she remembered. "Oh, duh. But don't say that. If you say it, it might not happen." Her legs were still not cooperating with her. They had always worked with her before, whether she was strutting or simply walking; they never caved under pressure.

"Well, it's never going to happen unless you try out." Rhiannon put her arm around Phoebe and gently guided her toward the pitch. "I'll be here the whole time," she assured her friend as she pushed her onto the field.

Phoebe uttered a whimper/squeak. She was again immobilized—until the Hufflepuff captain, Bryan Holzer, appeared. The sight of him restored her focus, and she walked over to him with ease.

The tryout itself was not easy. The veteran Keeper was very good at what she did, but Phoebe rose to the challenge. She didn't need to think of the techniques she had learned. She felt no self-doubt as she went for a goal. She knew how to move and what to do, and she did very well. True, her nerves returned when she landed, but the look on Bryan's face reassured her.

"Welcome to the team."

It had been some time since Phoebe had smiled so widely.


	13. Little Black Mess

**A/N: This is a long chapter. It has a lot of Prue and MWPP—along with a bit of romantic action. Enjoy!**

**Alissia: I'm glad you like it so much. Thanks for reviewing.**

**Poseidon's Chickadee: Yes, I am having fun with the relationship between the Seer and Sirius, and the relationship between the Seer and Phoebe. Thank you for reviewing—and so consistently! **

**mallratrebel: Thanks for the review.**

**A fan: I hope you've gotten far enough to see this, and I hope it you like it so far. Just so you know, this story will be completely slash free.**

They had been staring at her for the entire dinner. Maybe it was because she had moved a few inches closer to her fellow Slytherins—just close enough to hear them talk, just far enough to be unfriendly to conversational advances. So far, the Slytherins were proving to be a boring bunch. Those nearest Prue were talking about how they were looking forward to the Quidditch season and how they were finally going to show up those Gryffindors. The real action seemed to be taking place in the middle of the table. Prue knew that eventually, she was going to have to place herself there; for now, she was content with dull talk.

She could not be content with Sirius, James, Peter, and Remus staring at her. Remus, at least, was subtle. He looked down at his plate, pushed some food around, gazed absently at the Slytherin table, and then looked away. Repeat. James and Sirius took turns looking at her, occasionally turning to each other to discuss something. Peter was absolutely hopeless. He was shoveling food into his mouth, his eyes firmly set on her.

Prue sighed and finished what was left on her plate. What did they want from her? She thought about going over to them and confronting them—a move that certainly would have been condoned by Phoebe. Prue looked briefly at said sister and was unsurprised to see her talking to Rhiannon. She was surprised, though, by how happy Phoebe looked. She was very relaxed and her smiles were… well, they were real smiles. She'd been happy all day, actually, and Prue couldn't figure it out.

Whatever it was, it was not as pressing as her concerns about Potter and Company. She got up, intent on avoiding a run-in with the troublemakers.

They also got up—all except Peter, who was still attached to his plate. They followed her as she left the Great Hall, muttering amongst themselves. She glanced back; they avoided her gaze.

"But she's a Slytherin!" she heard Sirius protest. James promptly shushed him.

Enough was enough. Prue turned around and crossed her arms. "Is there something you want, boys?"

Again, the boys stared at her. Remus, she noted, was looking unusually nervous. If she had to guess, she'd say he was afraid—but of what? Or, Prue grimly amended, who?

"Yes," James at last replied. "We need your help." He approached her, beckoning to Remus and Sirius. They came up to her slowly, Sirius warily eyeing her, Remus avoiding any eye contact.

"With what?" she inquired.

A group of students passed them, and James shook his head. "We can't talk here. Come with us." The three boys started down the hall.

"Hold it." They stopped and looked back at her. "Look, I have somewhere to be soon. Can't this wait?"

"No," James said.

"We'll make this as quick as we can," Sirius added. "And don't worry, you'll get to the tryouts on time."

Prue silently cursed telepaths. "Ever heard of a thing called privacy?"

Sirius grinned. "Doesn't ring a bell."

James, however, was not smiling. "Let's go."

Against her better judgment, Prue decided to indulge their request and follow them. They ended up on the seventh floor, where they paced back and forth three times. "What are we doing?" she asked. She got no answer, but a door did appear out of nowhere. "What is this?" James opened said door and pulled her in when she hesitated. "Okay, I'm going to ask yet another question, and I'm hoping that I actually get an answer: what are we doing here?" Prue looked around the rather bare room, her arms crossed.

"We needed a private place to talk to you," James answered.

"And why do you need to talk to me?"

None of the boys spoke.

"I'm waiting."

Finally, James started. "It's about these amulets. We need to get them off immediately."

Prue sighed, resisting a very strong urge to roll her eyes. "Look, I understand that you have a driving desire to throw spells around, but I'm not going to help you cause trouble."

"This isn't about pranks," Sirius said.

He looked worried—somber, even. In fact, they both looked dead serious. As for Remus, he still looked scared. Despite his best efforts, his eyes eventually met hers. The pure fear that she saw in them convinced her to listen. "All right. What is it about?"

James and Sirius silently conferred. "We're only telling you this because you're the most level-headed Charmed One," James said.

"And you seem to be able to take action," Sirius added. "We need that."

Prue arched her eyebrow. "Really? But didn't you just say that you can't trust a Slytherin? We're so corrupt."

Sirius shifted. James coughed. "In this case, we thought it best to rise above house rivalries," James said, giving Sirius a purposeful look. "Now, how much do you know about werewolves?"

Remus stiffened visibly. Her eyes on him, Prue responded, "Werewolves? They exist?"

"So you don't know much. We'd better sit down." He gestured toward something behind her.

Prue turned and found four chairs. "Those weren't there before." She sat down cautiously.

"This is the Room of Requirement," Sirius told her. "Whatever you need, it's there."

"Useful."

"Very," James agreed. "So werewolves are real, and they're pretty dangerous. Except to animals, that is."

Prue made a small sound in her throat. "Good to know. Um, is this just an information session?"

"No." James drew in a deep breath. "We know a werewolf. You do too, actually."

Prue looked at Remus again. He had turned away, and he was slightly hunched over. When James didn't elaborate on his statement, she prompted, "And this werewolf would be…?"

"Prue, werewolves are not welcome in the wizarding world," James said. "They're hated by pretty much everyone. We'll tell you who the werewolf is, but you have to swear that you'll never tell anyone."

"I won't tell anyone." Prue directed her next statement at Remus. "I promise."

Remus rotated slowly toward her. "I am a werewolf, Prue." When the words were out, he tensed, as if preparing for a blow.

Prue accepted this information with a nod. "Okay. What does this have to do with the necklaces?"

The tension on the boys' faces broke for a moment. "You're all right with this?" Sirius asked.

Prue shrugged. "He's not a demon, and he's not a warlock. And I may not know you well, Remus, but I know you're not a bad guy."

James smiled a little. "Thank you. Well, every month Remus goes to the Shrieking Shack and transforms into a werewolf. Sirius, Peter, and I join him."

"Isn't that a bit dangerous?"

Sirius shook his head. "Werewolves aren't dangerous to animals."

Prue made the connection quickly. "You turn into animals? And you use a spell, right? Is that it?"

"Well, no. It's actually something a bit…" Sirius searched for the right word. "Illegal," he admitted.

"We're animagi," James said. "We can transform into animals. We're not registered, and we're underage."

Prue nodded. "The necklaces would detect if you transformed, and I bet that the Elders would have a big problem with that."

"Exactly," Sirius confirmed. "But we can't let Remus go through this alone. We're his friends." He looked to Remus, who looked down.

"You don't have to do this," Remus said. "I've always thought it was too dangerous, anyway."

"Out of the question, mate."

Prue took a moment to process everything. She was trying to tell herself that it was wrong to help them, but she couldn't. "Do you have a plan?"

James and Sirius exchanged a look. "You're making this quite easy for us. And yes, we do have a plan."

"I'm listening."

James leaned forward, grinning. "Well, I've noticed that whenever we use magic in a way the Elders don't like, Patty tends to pop up immediately. I know that this"—he tugged at the necklace—"transmits information to the Elders. At first, I was hoping that I could jam the signal, but the magic's too powerful for me. I really don't think there's any way that we can remove these ourselves. So I think that we should try to get the Elders to remove them for us."

"And you'll do that how?"

"I'm getting to that," he said. "Now, the Elders know very well how important the eight of us are. They don't want us falling victim to demons. They want us to be well-trained and powerful." He paused purposefully. "What if these necklaces stopped that from happening? What if a demon tapped into their power and used it against us?"

Prue put up her hands. "Wait. You're not suggesting that we invite a demon to use us, are you?"

James sat back nonchalantly. "Of course not. I'm suggesting that we take a lesson from our old friend Damazien. Damazien was able to sense magic, like these crystals do. However, he drew on the magic; he didn't just sense it. With the right spell, I think we can turn these amulets into veritable leeches. They'll suck out the magic, making us defenseless. The Elders will think that a demon did something, and they'll take the necklaces off right away. We'll be free to transform."

He looked a little too sure of himself. "There are plenty of problems with that plan," Prue said. "First, a non-existent demon will only complicate things. My mother and Leo will think there's an extra factor when there isn't. Second, it's plain crazy. How can you be sure that our magic will come back? And what if we end up dead because we couldn't protect ourselves? Third, demons can't come to Hogwarts. Fourth, I don't think there's a spell powerful enough to affect these things. They were made by the Elders."

Sirius made a derisive noise. "You think the Elders made these? The Elders don't have time for that kind of stuff. They probably just stole them from some creative witch. They're not that powerful."

"As for your other points," James picked up, "demons can show up in Hogsmeade; there's always an unknown demon in the mix; our magic will come back; and only I am going to do this. The others will make sure that I don't get killed."

Prue shook her head. "There must be another way."

"This is the only way," Sirius replied.

"It's ridiculous and needlessly risky."

"That's life."

"There must be something in the Book of Shadows."

This got their attention. "Book of Shadows, eh?"

"Yes. I'll go get it." She had just spoken the words when the Book appeared in her lap. "Whoa. This room really is useful." She began to flip through it. The first spell she stopped on caused her to cringe.

_The object of your hate_

_Will now be your fate._

_I bind you in your wrath_

_To this curséd path!_

"I did not see that," she muttered and started to turn the page.

"See what?" James caught sight of the spell before she could do anything. "Hold it right there!" He put his hand on the page and tried to take the Book from Prue.

"No," she firmly said. "This is a spell to bind a demon, James. We are not going to use it."

"Ha!" James pulled the Book away from her and read the spell. His face lit up. "This is perfect. We just have to tweak it a little."

Sirius looked at the spell. "Are you kidding me, Prue? We have to use this."

"I said no, and I mean no. Give me the Book."

"James, maybe she's right," Remus tried.

James would not be stopped. He jumped away from Prue and did a jig around the room to avoid her telekinesis. "I'll give it back in a minute." James had conjured a piece of paper and a quill.

"James, no." Prue grabbed the Book with one hand and pulled. With the other hand she held on to the quill in James's hand. "The Book of Shadows is not a toy, damn it!"

Suddenly, her head was swimming. Prue swayed on her feet, then collapsed, letting go of the quill and the Book. She shook her head, but that just made things worse. Her eyes settled on Sirius, who was staring at her very intently. Prue then realized what was happening. "Get out," she said, drunkenly. She pushed at him, but he would not be dislodged. Abandoning psychic resistance, she lurched toward him, very much intent on whacking him. But she just fell back onto the floor.

"Sirius, cut it out," she heard Remus say.

"Done." James laid the Book next to Prue. "I'll work on that, then." He stood and sauntered toward the door, Sirius at his side. "C'mon, Remus."

Sirius's connection was severed once he was out of the room. "I'm sorry about them," Remus said as he helped Prue up. "I'll get the spell back."

Prue closed her eyes for a moment, putting her mind back in order. "That would be great," she said once she opened them, "though he'll probably make another copy, or memorize it." She picked up the Book. As she was straightening up, she remembered that she had somewhere to be. "Listen, Remus, I'm going to help you, but I have to leave right now." She opened the door.

"Good luck."

Prue looked back at him.

"With the tryouts, that is." He smiled a little.

"Thank you." With that, she was off.

* * *

Oh.

That was all that Prue could think, and if she had tried to talk, that probably would have been the only thing she could say. Oh. As she was leaving the Quidditch pitch, that simple "oh" would become "oh my God" and "oh he's delicious", but for now, it was just "oh".

Prue had seen him before, of course. But not up close and personal, not one-on-one—not like this. She bobbed her head as he went on about team unity, only half-listening to what he was saying.

"…we're pleased to have you as Keeper, Prue, but we need solid connections." Regulus paused and moved a little closer to her, smirking faintly. Much to her dismay, her heart sped up, and a blush threatened to appear. "You hardly seem the shy-type to me, but you haven't spoken to any Slytherins since you entered our house."

Prue grasped for a good response. "How can you tell what type I am?"

His gaze left her for a moment, sliding to the right. Prue glanced back and was almost startled to see the other teammates. She had forgotten about them. "The way you fly is very telling," he said, turning his eyes back on her. "You're a daring person—highly determined, as well. And as a Slytherin, you must be focused and ambitious. There's no room in you for timidity." He paused. "Am I right?"

"Close enough." Why was it so difficult to talk to him? Annoyed with herself, Prue tried to take control of the conversation. "I am more than willing to make connections on this team, and in our house," she said, making her voice just as silky as his. "But I may require some guidance. I am new in the wizarding world, after all." The edges of her mouth curled up languorously. It wasn't a smile; it wasn't a smirk. Prue couldn't find a term for it, but it felt Slytherin-like.

Regulus looked pleased. "Is that an invitation?"

"Would you like it to be?"

He was silent a moment, that faint smirk still on his face. "You've been clinging to the edge of the Slytherin table for a while now," he at last said. "Perhaps you would like to join us in the middle?"

"Count on it."

When she left the pitch, her composure fled, and Prue was left with a mess of "oh" thoughts.

* * *

The next day found Prue fully recovered from her encounter with Regulus and ready to put Potter and Company in their proper place. She purposefully went to breakfast a little later than usual, for they had a tendency to come to breakfast after she did.

She was most pleased to see them already seated at the Gryffindor table when she entered the Great Hall. Putting on a bright smile, she strode over to James and Sirius and used her telekinesis to separate them. Once a space was created, she plopped down and said, "Hi. You two ran off awfully fast yesterday." She looked at Sirius and stopped smiling. "And after such an intimate moment."

Sirius ignored her in favor of his food, while James responded, "If you've come to convince us that we shouldn't do this, you're wasting your time." He nodded at Remus. "Remus was working on us all night."

"Oh no," Prue said. "I'm here to tell you what a stupid plan it is." She tugged at the crystal around her neck. "These are sensing crystals. Don't you think the Elders will realize what you've done?"

"We were planning on having a third party."

"Maybe Paige," Sirius furthered.

Using a tone she normally reserved for Phoebe, Prue put an end to that idea. "You are not getting Paige involved."

"She's oh-so innocent, though," James insisted. "She could say that she made a mistake. She'll bat those pretty little eyelashes, maybe tear up—can she cry on command? Well, never mind. Leo and Patty will eat it up."

"No."

"Fine. Then how about"—he swung his head around—"Rhiannon. She's a Wiccan witch."

"Phoebe's friend? I know nothing about her."

"She sees the future," Sirius told her. "Her mum was a famous witch. Had quite a vanquish record, until… well."

Prue filled in the blank, but it wasn't enough to inspire confidence in Rhiannon. "You would trust her with this?"

James shook his head. "Not all of it. Just the spell."

"And how do you intend to approach her?"

Sirius smiled. "Will it be you or me, Jamie?"

"Eh, you can have her."

Prue rolled her eyes. "You think she's just going to fall at your feet?"

"Well, that's the plan."

"This is getting complicated," Remus said, drawing the bickering group's attention.

"No, it's getting interesting," James replied.

"He's right." Prue was starting to get tired of James and Sirius; dealing with them was too much like dealing with Phoebe. She needed to end this, and to do that, she was going to have to make some concessions. "I will accept that you are going to use that spell," she said, "but since it's from the Book of Shadows, I am going to oversee your use of it. I will be setting the terms for this."

"Prue, as helpful as you've been, we can handle it from here," Sirius said, munching on some toast. "Remember, we're more experienced than you are at magic."

"If you think I'm above telling my mother what you're up to, you are very much mistaken. I am going to be involved in this." James tried to speak, but Prue cut him off. "I want as few people as possible. James, me, Rhiannon. That's it."

"Ah-ah." Sirius waggled his finger. "I have to come too, just in case a demon attacks."

"Fine," Prue snapped. "But if you are anything other than silent, I will make you regret coming." She stopped long enough to take a deep breath; she didn't want her anger to set off her telekinesis. "When will you talk to her?"

"After breakfast. So we'll meet tonight."

Prue ignored his cockiness. "Gryffindor tower. Tonight at ten. Does that work for you? Good."

The boys watched her leave. They all expected her to settle at the end of the Slytherin table, but she did not. Instead, she placed herself in the middle of the table, next to Regulus. She then started what looked like a lively conversation with him.

Sirius watched this with great interest. "So she's hardly a Slytherin…"

"Shut it," James muttered.

"Won't even talk to other Slytherins…"

"Sirius."

"Prongs, who are you kidding?"

"He's right about her, Padfoot," Remus quietly said. "And you were in her head. Did you sense any evil at all?"

"Well, no. But if she's talking to my brother…" He shook his head. "It's just not right."

James examined the two. "Maybe she's just a victim of the Black charms."

Sirius almost gagged. "Regulus? Charms?"

"She is sitting pretty close to him," Peter chipped in.

Sirius scowled and lapsed into silence. For the rest of breakfast, he kept his eyes on Prue. She had a solid block up, but that didn't stop him from trying to break through it. She noticed this, and with a slight movement of her finger, she knocked his cup over. Its contents poured into his lap. Regulus saw her do this and laughed. Prue smiled at him.

Cursing under his breath, Sirius dried himself off with a spell while his friends chuckled. "Yeah, abusing her magic. That's a good sign." This only made them laugh harder.

"Like we don't do the same thing," James said.

"Better not let her get to you," Remus warned lightly. "You've got some charming of your own to do, and you don't want to let a bad mood interfere."

Sirius might have given a retort to that, but he was distracted by Prue, who had just risen from her seat. Regulus grabbed her arm and said something to her. Prue blinked, looking a tad unsure. Then she made an affirmative gesture and left.

"Oh!" Peter pointed at something behind Sirius. "She's getting up."

Sirius stood up, offering no farewell to his friends. Rhiannon spotted him, and her eyes went wide. Whispering something, she tugged Phoebe out of her seat and raced out of the Hall. Sirius was caught off-guard by this, but he recovered and followed the two girls.

"What's wrong with you?" he heard Phoebe say.

"Shh! Just follow me, and for Merlin's sake, do not leave me."

_What is her problem?__I thought she liked him_.

Phoebe's thought emboldened him, and he jogged down the hall to catch up with Rhiannon. "Rhiannon!" He pretended to be surprised. "What a coincidence."

Rhiannon probably would have kept moving, but Phoebe held on to her. "What a coincidence indeed," Phoebe said. "We were just talking about you, weren't we, Ray?"

"No," Rhiannon sourly said.

Phoebe forced a laugh. "She's such a kidder." She waited a beat, then said, "I totally forgot. I have to go do some Charmed Ones stuff. Catch you later, Ray." And off she went.

Rhiannon's dismay was obvious. Sirius had a feeling that she was about to formulate an excuse of her own, so he quickly pounced. "It's good to see you," he said. "We haven't spoken in a while."

"Well, when you crash into someone's bed uninvited, there's usually a requisite awkward avoidance period. Excuse me."

Sirius put himself in her path. "It wasn't my bed. No awkwardness necessary."

"Be that as it may, I have to…" She struggled to find an excuse.

Sirius took advantage of the pause. "You know," he said, "I've never seen—"

"Eyes like mine?" Rhiannon supplied. "Yes you have; in fact, Remus Lupin's are just like mine."

"Maybe, but I don't want to gaze into his eyes."

Rhiannon tried to get around him; he moved to block her. She tapped her foot impatiently. "And you don't want to gaze into mine, either. You just want me to do something for you."

"Now what would make you think that?"

She looked at him like he was an idiot. "I'm a seer, remember?"

Sirius hadn't realized that her powers were so advanced. He raised a mental shield and tried to regain his footing. He was distracted for but a moment, but that was long enough for Rhiannon to get around him and start walking rapidly down the hall. He went after her, calling, "You're making this very difficult. I just want to talk to you."

Rhiannon made the mistake of stopping. "Please. You want to seduce me."

He was not expecting such a blunt response. "Erm—"

Rhiannon smiled. "Wow. You've never been flustered before, have you? You're kind of cute like that." She realized her mistake, but it was too late.

"Maybe I should try being flustered more," he said and moved closer to her.

"That was weak, Black," she said. His proximity, though, was getting to her, and he could tell. He took it a step further, placing his hands on her arms. Her bottom lip dropped, and she took an audible breath.

"Now who's flustered?" He moved his mouth closer to hers. Her eyes closed.

"You're not going to stop, are you?" she whispered.

"No." His breath ghosted over trembling lips.

"Well, get it over with. I'll—"

Sirius kissed her. She was tense at first, but she relaxed into the kiss, even allowing him to enter her mouth. Sirius was in the habit of kissing girls in a way that made them weak in the knees, but this particular kiss nearly got him weak in the knees. Yes, it was good.

She pulled back and made a show of wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "There, you seduced me. What do you want?"

His purpose didn't return to him immediately—which was odd, since he was usually quite focused. "Now that you mention it," he started, "I do have a favor to ask. I need you to do a spell." He explained her part, carefully avoiding anything about Remus. "We've suffered long enough with these things."

She eyed him distrustfully. "What are you going to do for me?"

Damn. He had been hoping that she wouldn't ask for something in return. "Well…" He took her hand and tried to kiss it. Rhiannon yanked it back.

"I'm expecting more than that."

"You'll do it?"

She pursed her lips. "Yes. But only to have you in debt to me."

"Good. I'll see you tonight, then."


	14. Complications Arise

**A/N: Well, this story doesn't seem to be as liked as it used to be. Alas, alack, and such… But I thank my sole reviewer, mallratrebel, heartily. One thing, though: did anyone else feel gypped by the MWPP scene in the OotP movie? Five freakin' seconds? Disappointing!**

Piper was still reading, and she wasn't showing any sign of stopping soon. Paige was dozing; Phoebe was off with Rhiannon. Admittedly, Phoebe could potentially cause a problem by not leaving Rhiannon, but at the moment, Prue was just glad that she was out of the way. Piper, being there and awake, was more of a problem.

Prue tore her eyes away from the clock long enough to cast an anxious glance at her sister, who was worrying her bottom lip with her teeth as she read. That was a bad sign, for it meant that she was deeply engaged in the story. Not enough, though, to allow Prue to escape unnoticed.

Piper wouldn't tell anyone if she sneaked out; Prue knew this. But she didn't want to set a bad example for her, though Piper, admittedly, was the epitome of integrity. Still, time was limited, as another look at the clock reminded Prue. She started to move toward her cloak.

"Wow, is that the time?" Piper put her book down and stood, stretching. "I ought to get ready for bed soon."

"Good idea," replied Prue. "I think I might go to bed in a minute. I'm"—she yawned—"awfully tired."

She had overdone it. Piper's eyebrow went up, and she made no response. She did, however, go into the bathroom.

Prue jumped up, shoved two pillows under the sheets on her bed, and extinguished nearly all the lights in the room. She paused briefly to examine the effect, grimacing. She was a witch, and that was the best she could do?

Paige shifted in her bed, prompting Prue to accept her own lack of creativity. She was through the portrait and putting on her cloak before Piper even put the toothpaste on her toothbrush.

The hall was silent and blessedly clear. Prue moved quickly down it, praying that she would not have any encounters. Luck was on her side tonight, and she made it to the Gryffindor tower without meeting anyone.

At least, she thought luck was on her side. It was not. When she reached the tower, she found, along with the expected faces of James, Sirius, and Rhiannon, Phoebe's smug countenance.

"Well, well," Phoebe said. "Up to no good, Prue?"

Prue took a hold of Phoebe's shoulders and turned her in the direction she had just come from. "Go to our room, Phoebe."

Phoebe escaped Prue's grip deftly. "Look, we both know that you can't stop me from coming, so let's avoid a pointless argument, okay?"

Sometimes Prue thought Phoebe was really trying to make her go mad.

"Let's just go," James said, tucking a parchment into his cloak.

Prue shot a glare at Rhiannon, who had the decency to look apologetic. _Why, oh why? What did I do to deserve this?_ It didn't help that Sirius grinned at her as she was thinking that. _Can't you let me suffer in peace, Black?_

"Nope," he replied as they turned the corner.

He and James were very calm as they led the way down three staircases. It was obvious that they weren't concerned about running into anyone. Foolishly, Prue wasted a moment wondering what made them so confident; then she remembered who she was thinking about.

The two boys stopped abruptly before a mirror. "Here we are," Sirius announced. With a flourish, he put his wand to a chipped flower that bordered the mirror. The mirror swung open silently, and the two boys entered, motioning for the girls to follow.

"Secret passageway? Nice," said Phoebe as she admired the passageway in the dim wandlight.

Much of the journey was spent in silence. Phoebe continued to look smug; James continued to look grim; Sirius continued to look faintly amused; and Prue continued to worry and conjecture. Rhiannon was unreadable—a fact which Prue did not take well to. Prue's eye was drawn often to her, and she became increasingly concerned about Rhiannon's part in this.

After some time, they came up through a trapdoor and into a basement. Prue made a quick assessment of the area and concluded, from its well-marked boxes, that this was a quill shop.

"Very good." Prue was surprised by the sound of Sirius's voice; she had grown used to the silence. "This is Scrivenshaft's Quill Shop," he went on. "And yes, it's closed up for the night, so we don't have to worry about being caught." Apparently, Prue had also grown used to Sirius picking through her mind, as she hadn't even felt him doing it.

That, however, did not mean she was comfortable with him going through her thoughts. She gave him a vicious mental shove. "Do you intend to do the spell here?" she asked James.

"It's as good a place as any," he replied. "No need to invite demon attacks by going out into the open." James handed the spell to Rhiannon, who read through it quickly.

"This looks familiar," she said, glancing at Prue. "To bind the demon Carriag, right?"

Prue hesitated, feeling uneasy with Rhiannon's knowledge of the spell. "Yes," she said after a moment. "How did you know?"

Rhiannon was examining the spell again. "It's pretty well-known. I studied it when I studied spell forms." She looked up at James. "Ready?"

He nodded.

"The object of—"

"Wait."

Prue turned to Phoebe, alarmed by her dread-filled tone and widened eyes. "What is it?"

"I have a really, really bad feeling about this."

Phoebe's reluctance was, to say the least, surprising to Prue. Of all the people present, she least expected Phoebe to be reluctant about mischief-making. "Vision?" Prue asked.

Phoebe shook her head, eyes closed. "No. Just a feeling."

James surveyed Phoebe with indifference. "Yes, well if that feeling develops into a vision, do tell me. For now…" He gestured for Rhiannon to go on.

"The object of your hate will be your magic's fate," Rhiannon chanted. "This curséd amulet will bind to magic met!"

The crystal at the end of James's necklace glowed. "That looks promising." Raising his hand, James attempted to conjure. There was a flash of red, but whatever he was trying to bring into being was resisting him mightily. His hand dropped, and he was left bent over and gasping in pain.

Sirius moved toward him. "You all right?"

James nodded. "I'm fine," he said, straightening up. "Just more intense than I expected." Seeing the worried faces around him, he pushed a smirk onto his face. "Right, we'd better get back, then."

Prue already had a bad feeling about this spell, but her sense of foreboding grew as they neared Hogwarts. She looked to Phoebe, whose tight mouth and concentration on James made it obvious that her concerns had not dissipated.

Rhiannon was the first to leave the group when they reached Hogwarts, muttering to Sirius that she would not forget his debt to her. Phoebe and Prue would have been next to leave, for their room was on the sixth floor; the sisters, however, were determined to see James safely to the Gryffindor tower. They flanked him, scanning the area constantly for threats as they moved along.

They reached the tower without having encountered any threats. Before James and Sirius could give the Fat Lady the password, though, Phoebe grabbed James's arm and squeezed her eyes shut. A minute passed; then, Phoebe released him. "Nothing."

The boys disappeared into the tower. Prue and Phoebe stood staring at the Fat Lady long enough for her to tersely tell them to say the password or move along. They chose the latter, ambling down the staircase to their room. Once there, Prue lit her wand and began to rearrange her bed.

"Where's my pillow?" Phoebe whispered.

"Here," Prue said and handed it to her. "I had to borrow it."

Phoebe glanced at Prue's bed but made no comment. After they had changed into their pajamas, the normally distant sisters sat together and began a discussion, in low tones, about James.

"Why did James do that spell?" was Phoebe's first question.

Prue was a little afraid of telling Phoebe about the spell—she didn't need her getting ideas—but she wanted to hold on to this version of Phoebe. And to do that, she needed to show some trust. "He's trying to get the crystals off. He figures that if he turns his into a magical leech, the Elders will have no choice but to remove them."

As Prue had feared, there was some admiration in Phoebe's eyes. "Clever," she said, "but also stupid. If demons try to steal powers anyway, how will they react to magic that's all packaged up and ready to go?"

"Exactly," Prue said, pleased that Phoebe understood the danger. "We're going to have to keep a close eye on him."

Phoebe nodded. "It would be easier if we had classes with him, but as long as he has Sirius or Remus around, he'll probably be okay."

"We'll just have to watch out when James is alone."

Both sisters jumped when Piper's voice broke in. "You're back." Piper sat up, blinking blearily. "Where were you?"

"Nowhere much," Phoebe said.

Paige awoke then. "What's going on?"

"What were you saying about James?" Piper asked.

Prue and Phoebe exchanged a look. "We might as well tell them. They could help," said Phoebe.

"All right." Turning to Piper, Prue said, "James may be in danger."

"From what?"

"We're not sure yet," Phoebe responded. "But I think it would be a good idea for all of us to keep an eye on him. If you see him without a Wiccan witch or wizard nearby, follow him, okay?"

Prue was impressed by this show of leadership. "Just not you, Paige."

"What?" Paige exclaimed. "I know just as much magic as you three, and I've had just as much experience with demons. There's no reason why I—"

"Good night, Paige," Prue said, extinguishing her wand.

"Hmpf."

* * *

This was not good—not good at all. James had been certain, before they had done the spell, that he would be able to perform magic, if at a reduced capacity. He'd been wrong. He couldn't even manage spells he'd mastered in his first year; his current task in Transfiguration was far beyond his skill. It was frustrating, because Transfiguration was James's best subject. 

"I hate to tell you I told you so," Remus murmured as McGonagall eyed James's unchanged snail, "but…" He trailed off and shrugged.

"If there's one thing I don't need, Moony," James growled, "it's your complacency." He tried once again to vanish his snail, gritting his teeth when a jolt of pain went through him.

"You are looking peaky," Sirius put in. "Maybe you'd like to take it off?"

"I'm fine!" James said, a little too loudly. Half the class stopped and stared at him.

Remus waited until the other students lost interest, then whipped out a scrap of parchment. His quill hovered over the sheet for a few seconds before it connected with the paper, and he began to write rapidly. "Here," he said when he was done, thrusting the parchment into James's hand. "If you want to take off the spell."

"I don't."

"Just keep it, all right?"

James made sure to appear very grudging as he tucked the countercurse away. In truth, he was tempted—not too much, of course—to say the spell. He hadn't been prepared for this experience, and he was beginning to wonder if he and his magic would emerge unscathed from this.

But the Elders would notice the change in the amulet soon enough; he just had to wait a bit longer. Surely, James could put up with this spell long enough to achieve his goal. He just had to avoid magic as much as he could and keep himself focused on the goal.

James decided that a walk would do him some good. At the end of class, he slipped away from his friends and took a hall that was relatively unoccupied. The residual pain of doing magic was fading, and his mind was starting to clear. Yes, this walk would definitely do him good.

He was somewhat annoyed when he passed by a crowd coming from History, but most of them were heading in the opposite direction he was going. If he pressed on, he would soon lose them.

Piper stopped in her tracks when James Potter pushed past her, looking determined and distracted. He was not with Remus, Sirius, and Peter, as he usually was, and it looked like he was making for greater isolation. _James may be in danger…_ Piper bit her lip. She was going to have to follow him.

Pointing her wand at her feet, she muttered, "_Silencio_!" She was hoping that this spell would be insignificant enough that the Elders wouldn't mind if she used it. She started to go after James, paused, and, holding her wand aloft, added an obscuring charm. That would help her escape notice, but only if she kept a few paces behind him and stuck to the edge of the hall.

James was quite engrossed in his own thoughts; Piper thought she might've been able to follow him without any spells. But the spells made her feel sneaky, an interesting sensation for Piper. She was enjoying it when James stopped and turned around. If he had caught sight of her from the corner of his eye, she might have escaped notice. However, he was looking straight at her; the spell could not save her from his notice.

"Piper?" James walked up to her, a bemused curve to his mouth. "You were following me?"

Piper pointed her wand at herself and took off the spells. "How did you know?"

"C'mon, Piper. I've been fighting demons long enough to know when I'm being followed. Though you are pretty good." He considered her. "Are charms your thing?"

"I guess," she replied.

"Why were you following me?"

Piper made a point of tucking her wand away. Did she need to tell him about their suspicions? "Prue and Phoebe said that you were in danger," she at last said.

"I'm glad that you care, but I can handle myself."

Piper raised one finger and shushed him. She had just heard something, something that was causing dread to make camp in her stomach. There was a long space of silence; then, the sound came again. "_Væe victis_." Terror evicted the dread from her body, and she pushed James toward the end of the hall. "Run!"

She had just begun to run herself when the mist appeared behind her. Piper had no firm evidence to support her fears about the mist or the voice, but her experience with the spirit-summoning spell had made her very wary. "_Impedimenta_!" she cried, sending the spell back at the trailing mist. It was unaffected by the spell, and also by her freeze.

"What is that?" James called as they continued to run.

Piper ignored him and sent back another spell. "_Stupefy_!" It, too, was ineffectual.

Suddenly, James dropped to his knees, his face twisted in agony. The crystal that had been resting against his chest was being lifted by an invisible hand; the mist was rapidly engulfing James. Piper stopped short and tried another unsuccessful spell. She followed that up with a desperate rhyme: "Stop this evil, end it now, banish this mist, but don't ask me how!"

That, of course, failed. As Piper watched in impotent horror, the mist began to take the shape of a man. He was presently transparent, but he was gaining body quickly. Piper flicked her fingers several times, and on the sixth try, the man finally froze. James fell away from the man and weakly said, "Fire." Then, he passed out.

Piper pointed her wand at the frozen man. "_Incendio_!" The man caught fire and unfroze. He turned his eyes on Piper as he burned away, saying nothing. It wasn't long before he had disappeared.

Within seconds, Patty had appeared. "James!" She knelt down and put her hands over him. "What happened?"

"A man appeared," Piper said in a rush. "I think it was a warlock—my God, he was frightening! And the mist, the mist came first. He formed out of it, after he grabbed the crystal, and—"

Patty cursed suddenly and drew her hands away. "Leo!" The whitelighter orbed in. Before he could say anything, Patty ordered, "Tell them to take the crystals off now. They're absorbing magic."

"How—"

"Go!"

Leo obeyed her, and moments later, the crystals disappeared. Patty examined James and shook her head. "I can't heal this." She remembered Piper then, and waved her hand, orbing Piper to her room. Her sisters and Leo were already there.

Leo advanced on her. "Piper, what happened?"

"The mist appeared again, right after I heard that voice—you know, v_æe victis_," she said, switching her focus to her sisters. "I'd been following James, so I told him to run. But the mist, it surrounded him, and…" She paused, frowning. "It lifted his crystal, and a man formed out of the mist. None of the spells I used on him worked, and my freeze didn't work until the man had become solid. I set him on fire, then, and he disappeared."

"He disappeared?" repeated Leo.

"Yes," Piper confirmed. "I thought it would be more… explosive."

"It should have been." He digested this piece of information, concern etched in his features. "You did a very good job, Piper," he said after a beat. "But—"

"Let me guess," Phoebe said. "But this is too much for us to handle?"

Leo faced her. The struggle within him was clear. Piper could tell that he didn't want Phoebe to run off again, but he also needed to properly portray the danger of this situation. "Right now, we don't know what's going on," said Leo. "If we find out anything, we'll tell you; if we think you can do a spell for this, we'll certainly have you do it. But for now, we need you to stay safe. I'll be guarding the room tonight, and I'll be escorting you to dinner later."

"And after that?" Phoebe asked, coolly.

"After that… Patty and I will be watching over you more carefully," Leo answered. He looked vaguely uncertain of his own response. "We can't be with you all the time, of course, so we think it would be good if you four, Remus, Lily, Sirius, and James stayed together as much as possible."

"Maybe we should take a look at the Book of Shadows," Prue said.

"Yeah," Piper jumped in. "I might be able to identify the warlock with it."

Leo shook his head, firm resolution obvious in his movement. "No. You'd have to leave the room, and we want you to stay here until the teachers have confirmed that everything's all clear. They're doing a search as we speak, and—"

Prue motioned to Piper, who froze Leo. "If possible, I'd like to see James as well," Piper said as they were climbing through the portrait hole. "I want to make sure that he's all right."

"As long as we can avoid the teachers," said Prue. They hung back as a severe-looking teacher passed through a crossway. "Where would he be?"

"Hospital wing, I'd say; mom said she couldn't heal this sort of thing."

"That's closer," Prue said. "So we'll go there first."

"No, once we get there, mum'll orb us straight back," Phoebe pointed out.

"You're right." They stopped again as they heard someone walking nearby. "Okay, we'll have to go get the Book first."

"There's a problem with that," Paige said. "Do you know the password to get into Grams's room?"

None of them did, but Phoebe thought she had a solution for that difficulty. "Paige can just turn intangible and go through."

"Oh," murmured Paige. "I don't know. I mean, this robe is kind of heavy…"

"You can do it," Phoebe assured her.

Paige blinked, understandably thrown by Phoebe's sudden confidence in her. "All right. I'll try, then."

They reached Grams's room with only a few close calls with wandering teachers. Once there, Paige drew her robe tighter around herself and, closing her eyes, walked straight through the portrait. Her robe remained with her. When the portrait swung open moments later, Paige was grinning and had the Book in her arms.

"Excellent," said Phoebe. "Now let's go to James."

Prue and Piper, awed, looked to each other for reassurance that Phoebe was indeed saying the things that she was. Phoebe failed to take note of their astonishment and led the way to the hospital wing.

Patty was not pleased to see them. "What are you doing here?" she hissed. "You should be with Leo!"

"Is James going to be all right?" Piper asked, trying to peer around her mother to see where James was.

"Yes. Now stay in your room, or the Elders _will_ have your powers." With a furious wave, she sent them back to their currently unfrozen whitelighter. He was looking about as pleased as Patty.

"I'm sorry, Leo," Piper said.

"You're sorry?" sputtered Leo. "You could have been attacked. That thing could have gotten you too!"

"But it didn't," replied Phoebe. The sisters gathered around the Book, leaving Leo to throw up his hands in exasperation and fall into a bout of muttering.

Page after page went by, and still they did not find their warlock. They were all beginning to doubt that he was in the Book when Piper gasped and jabbed an illustration of a man with her finger. "That's him!"

"It can't be," Paige said. "Look, he was vanquished in the 1800s."

Piper knew what she had seen, and he was definitely it. "It's him." She read the entry, and agitation possessed her. "Why isn't there a vanquishing spell?"

"They wouldn't need to list it if he'd already been vanquished," said Prue.

Piper sighed. "Just another dead-end."

"Dead-end." There was hushed elation in Phoebe's voice, as though she had stuck upon a very good idea. "You know, we haven't been back to that painting yet."

"And you're not going back," Leo said. "You in particular, Phoebe."

The sisters had grown numb to Leo's presence. They all looked at him, silently debating whether or not to freeze him again.

"Don't even think of it," he warned. "I was a wizard in my former life, and I haven't forgotten how to avoid magic."

"Well then, Leo, do you have any idea how a vanquished warlock could get into Hogwarts and nearly steal a Wiccan wizard's magic?" Phoebe asked, only the slightest hint of contempt in her voice.

"No," he admitted, "but we're going to figure it out."

"Yes," Prue quietly said, eyes on her sisters. "We are."

* * *

James had expected that Sirius, Remus, and Peter would be present when he awoke. However, he failed to predict that Piper, looking deeply concerned, would also be there. "Hello," he said and gingerly sat up. He was feeling much better, if fatigued. "Been waiting here long?" 

"Not too long," Sirius said. "They've only just cleared the halls. We tried to—ah—sneak out"—he paused significantly—"but Professor Halliwell caught us."

"Did she…?"

"No," replied Sirius.

Piper was rightly puzzled by this exchange, but posed no questions about it. "Madam Pomfrey said that you'd be fine in a day or two," she said. "But how are you feeling now?"

"I'm peachy, just a little tired."

"Piper told us what happened," Remus said in a way that made it sound like he had said, "That was really stupid."

"Yes, she put up quite a fight for me." James inclined his head at Piper. "I owe you some gratitude for that."

Embarrassed, Piper looked down at her feet. "Oh, no, it was—"

"It was impressive," said James, serious. To his friends, he added, "She even came up with a spell on the spot."

"It wasn't a very good one," Piper said, but a small smile crept onto her face.

James was feeling guilty about doubting her abilities before. He'd brushed her off as a self-conscious novice, but it was becoming clear that Piper was a force to be reckoned with. He would tell her that later, though; now, she had something to say.

"I found him in the Book," she said. "His name is Anton; he's a warlock."

"Ah, good to hear."

Piper twisted her hands. "Not really. James, he was vanquished more than a century ago, and the vanquishing spell is not listed in the Book."

This was a shock to the three Wiccan wizards; they contemplated it in silence.

It was James who broke the quiet. "It could be an impression."

"No, an impression wouldn't feed on your magic," Sirius said. "Almost sounds like a ghost."

"Of a warlock?" Remus shook his head. "That's impossible. And why would there be a warlock ghost in Hogwarts?"

"Those are all questions my mother and Leo have been asking. They can't figure it out." Piper paused thoughtfully. "That voice, the v_æe victis_… I've heard it before. The night my sisters and I first heard it, we did a ritual to summon a ghost." Her next words came slowly. "What if we did this?"

"Can't be, you'd need dark magic for that," Remus said.

"But something came through and attacked us. It very well could have been Anton."

"You got the spell from the Book, right?" Piper nodded. "That's consecrated magic. Nothing dark could have used the passageway you opened up," continued Remus.

Their further discussion was fruitless. They gave up eventually, and Madam Pomfrey decided that James had endured the strain of visitors for long enough. Sirius went out with promises of a grand celebration after James got better (Peter was keen on this idea); Remus went out with the promise to get all of James's homework for him. James certainly liked one promise better than the other.

Piper was the last to file out. She gave him a penetrating, grim look before she disappeared, startling James. He had never expected to feel such power from Piper, and he spent a long time staring at the doors to the hospital wing, wondering.

**A/N: Perhaps I need to take up my old habit of prodding people into reviewing. Come on, then! You'd speak up if I offed Sirius, the-hotness-that-must-be-named. If JKR can do it, I can do it too, people. Review!**


	15. Meltdown

**A/N: This is too good not to share… At the school I'm going to, there's a man named Tom Riddell. I don't know whether to laugh hysterically or cower in fear… right now I'm going with the former.**

**Poseidon's Chickadee: Thank you for reviewing yet again. Oooh, I would love to do Piper/James… but of course, I can't. Yes, Sirius is rather foolish, but don't worry, he's not the only one getting caught up.**

**charmedchick34: I'm glad that you are so interested in this story. Thanks for the review!**

Lily should have known that she would encounter trouble with Madam Pomfrey. She'd been thwarted in her effort to visit Potter the previous night, and the nurse was looking very much inclined to turn her away once again.

"It is rather early," Madam Pomfrey said.

"Early? It's never too early for a visitor."

Lily knew immediately that Potter would be fine: his voice was rich with an arrogant magnanimousness. Listening to it, one would gain the confused impression that one was simultaneously being admonished and commended. If Potter was able to maintain that tone, he was going to recover.

She gave thought to backing out of the hospital wing—that was all she had come for, really—but Madam Pomfrey was moving away, and Potter had spotted her. "Lily!" The name was out of his mouth before he had a chance to think; it gave both Potter and Lily pause. "It's good to see your face again," he went on, recovering quickly from that violation of their etiquette. "Come, sit."

Lily stood by his bed, determined to make this meeting business-like. "Patty filled me in. Dark spell, she said."

"Yes, I'd say it was."

"Would have to be a demon, or perhaps a warlock."

Something about Lily's tone struck Potter as amusing, for he smiled. "Quite," he said, his eyebrow slowly rising.

His amusement annoyed her, and she crossed her arms. "And just how did they manage to get access to you?"

"Ah, that was my mistake." Expertly, he hung his head and adopted a remorseful expression. "I sneaked into Hogsmeade and gave them the perfect opportunity."

Lily made a small sound in her throat. "You went alone?"

"Yes." Potter looked up at Lily, the remorse on his face replaced by amusement. "Are you going to be taking down these answers, or are you just committing them to memory? I only ask," he added as Lily opened her mouth, "because I'd like an accurate record if you plan to use this conversation against me."

"I see your wit is in working order," observed Lily dryly; "I assume that your magic will soon follow. And as I see that you've sustained no bodily harm—"

"You're free to look—and touch," Potter said. "Just be gentle." He grinned slyly and leaned back, hands tucked behind his head.

Lily didn't waste her breath on a retort. "Right. I suppose you'll be at the lesson tomorrow."

"If only to be with you."

She had had more than enough of him. She turned on her heel and made for the doors. "I hope you've learned your lesson, Potter," she called back as she opened the door. "You might not be so lucky next time."

* * *

There was a wrestling match going on in her midsection.

The Seer poked at her breakfast, grimacing slightly as the unknown fighters continued their belly brawl and inflicted damage on surrounding organs. She had woken up feeling like this and had, at first, thought it was the result of some physical malady. It was an offensive notion: she, a demon, falling victim to some microscopic invader. She'd considered going to the hospital wing, but at the thought, the struggle had flared up. _He_ would be there.

The thought of _him_ was dreadful, and warranted extra emphasis. She'd been a bit puzzled, but had come to the conclusion that James Potter was the cause of her trouble. After all, he had been on her mind all night; he was the reason behind her fitful rest.

Why had he been on her mind, and why were thoughts of him pursuing her yet? Sure, he was in the hospital wing because she'd done a spell for him, and sure, his absence at the Gryffindor table was painfully conspicuous, but what did that matter? She didn't even know him—for Merlin's sake, he was a Wiccan wizard! She'd been helping warlocks and demons to destroy his kind for decades. She'd never been troubled by a conscience, mainly because she didn't have one.

Did she have one now? And was that the source of this feeling? "I wish I hadn't done that spell," she blurted. The wrestling match in her stomach paused, then continued with newfound vigor.

"Come off it," Phoebe said from next to her. "Ray, if you hadn't done it, he would've gotten somebody else."

"Yes, but I'm a seer. I should have known this would happen."

"It's not your fault." Phoebe spoke with unfamiliar kindness. The Seer wasn't sure what was stranger: the fact that Phoebe was being kind, or the fact that someone was being kind to her.

But the Seer didn't ponder that for long. The owls had arrived, and it looked as though one was heading for her.

"News from home?" Phoebe inquired as the Seer opened the letter that had just landed in her lap.

"Um… yeah." The note was short and to the point; in fact, there was only one word on the parchment. _Immediately._ She didn't have to be a seer to know what that meant. But she was a seer, and she wasn't stupid. Somehow, the Dark Lord had found out about the crystal, and he was sending Sullivan to fetch her.

"Bad news?"

The Seer hurriedly folded the parchment, hiding the message from Phoebe's view. "Yes. My cousin's sick. She'll get better, though." She smiled weakly.

Phoebe studied her for so long that, for a heart-stopping minute, the Seer became convinced that she'd been caught in her lie. "You," Phoebe declared, "have too many worries on your mind. We should do something fun later."

"I can't," said the Seer. "Maybe another time." _If_, she added, _I'm alive._

Phoebe gave her another lingering look but said nothing more, allowing the Seer to theorize. She suspected that the attack on James was the Dark Lord's work, though she didn't understand how he had brought a vanquished warlock back to life. She was also at a loss to explain how the warlock had been able to get into Hogwarts. Yes, he could have been in the quill shop with them, but how could he have followed them undetected? There were more than enough spells on Hogwarts and the surrounding area to repel a range of evil creatures, including warlocks.

Absently, the Seer began to tap her fingers on the table. How had he done it? She puzzled over the problem for a while before she remembered that she had bigger problems at hand. Her first difficulty was getting off the grounds. The warlock incident had inspired greater security measures, including more spell protection and—if the rumors were correct—aurors. She could deal with spells, but the aurors were more of a challenge.

Oh, and she was likely going to her death. She didn't doubt that Sullivan would be taking her to Lord Voldemort. This was a grievous sin, and the Dark Lord would want to deal with her himself. For a few fleeting seconds, she found herself hoping that she would be caught before she could reach the Forbidden Forest. That was foolish, though: the Dark Lord's wrath would only increase if she were delayed.

So when she separated from the crowd leaving the Great Hall, she used all her skill to evade notice. If it hadn't been for Hagrid, she would have made it.

"'Ey! Where do yeh think yer goin'?"

The Seer yelped as a massive hand closed on the back of her robe. "I was just—"

"Righ', righ'," Hagrid interrupted. "Yeh were jus' walkin' inter the Forbidden Forest. Back ter class with yeh!" He turned her around and pushed her toward the castle.

The Seer was temporarily too stunned to move. She'd been caught—by _Hagrid_? So much for her skill. Only Hagrid's barked order to move along brought her to her senses, and she numbly obeyed.

She was late to History and lost Hufflepuff some points. This, too, was stunning to her, for she'd been laboring under the assumption that Professor Binns didn't know the names of his students, let alone the houses they were in. She recovered from that shock, though, as he began to lecture them about trolls or elves or something of that nature. It was easy to block out his droning voice, and for the rest of the class, the Seer pondered the mess she was in.

One way or another, she had to get to the forest. She would have to be more careful and make better use of her power. Yet how would she assuage the Dark Lord's anger? The Seer almost laughed at herself. Perhaps if she showed up with the Charmed Ones in tow, he'd be kind enough to vanquish her quickly. Beyond that, the Seer saw no way to calm her Lord.

When the end of class came, she considered slipping away again. She tried, only to be told briskly by Professor McGonagall to get to class. So she sat through Divination, giving impeccable predictions whenever she was called on to do so. That class ended; lunch came and went. She then tramped out to the greenhouse, fighting an urge to go into the forest. She could sense a pair of eyes on her, and she had a feeling that the owner of those eyes would take note of her disappearance and use it to bother her.

As it turned out, Sirius planned to bother her anyway. He chose to position himself closer to her than he usually did, and he brushed against her whenever they came close. The Seer's fingers curled around her wand, but she stopped herself from hexing him. However, when it became clear that he intended to follow her out of the greenhouse, she flicked her wand at an innocuous root, which promptly grew sharp teeth and a bad attitude. It latched onto Sirius's hand, and the Seer escaped, taking no small pleasure in the torrent of curses that erupted from his mouth.

She stopped a safe distance from Hagrid's hut and raised her wand. "_Fumificus_!" There was a BANG and a wall of smoke burst into being. Crude, but it was a distraction. Quickly, the Seer vaulted through the wall of smoke and into the Forbidden Forest.

She didn't hear the spell that was thrown at her, but the next thing she knew, she had been slammed against a tree. Something was trickling down her neck—blood, likely—and she was incapable of movement.

Sullivan stepped toward her, his teeth bared. "Where have you been?"

"I was caught," she said. "I tried—"

"Not hard enough!" he roared and dug the tip of his wand into her throat. His eyes were wild with rage, but the Seer didn't have to stare into them for long. He released her, and she fell to the ground. "Get up!" He grabbed her arm and, without warning, disapparated.

The Seer knew where they were going. She did not take stock of her surroundings when they appeared around her; instead, she dropped to her knee and bowed her head.

"Seer."

She raised her head and met the gaze of Lord Voldemort. Though she was a demon and had met more grotesque beings than the one before her, her automatic reaction was revulsion.

"Is there any reason why I should not kill you?"

"My Lord," the Seer began, "I understand your anger, but—"

Her words were cut short as his hand closed on her throat. "You did not tell me about Potter's amulet." He brought his face closer to hers, looking deeply into her eyes. "But you knew of it."

"Yes, I knew," she gasped. His grip tightened. "I did not see the importance, my Lord."

At these words, the Dark Lord released her. "_What_?" he hissed.

The Seer massaged her throat. "Certainly, it was tempting," she said as she got to her feet. "Potter's powers, waiting to be stolen—but what could we have done about it, my Lord?" This was a very daring move; the Seer knew that if she didn't execute it perfectly, she would be dead. "I couldn't steal the amulet; only the Elders could remove it. You couldn't access it; Potter was firmly stationed at the school. What was I to do, absorb his powers myself?" She paused, then shook her head. "No, my Lord. There is nothing we could have done."

Voldemort's fury had not abated, but he was not reaching for his wand. "Another warlock almost stole his powers! How did he access the boy, Seer?"

This was an unexpected twist. "You did not send him, my Lord?" the Seer cautiously asked.

"You are a pathetic seer indeed if you did not know that."

The Seer bowed slightly. "My Lord, it is a testament to your abilities as an Occlumens that I failed to see that." Straightening, she began to work through this complication. "You ask how the warlock did it. I do not know, and the Elders do not know. We may be facing a very able power, one that I may only identify if I am allowed to remain at Hogwarts."

Lord Voldemort had looked away from her; he was now contemplating the far wall of the room. The Seer held her breath as he thought—a rather juvenile action, actually, and one that she had not indulged in for a very long time.

"My Lord!" Sullivan's indignant voice rang through the room. "She failed us. How can we know that she has not crossed over?"

"Silence." Voldemort's eyes drifted back to the Seer. There was anger in them still, but it had calmed. "You will stay at Hogwarts," he said, "but you must be punished." Now, he took out his wand and pointed it at the Seer. She felt fear for a split second, and then—"_Crucio_!"—her world dissolved into pain unlike any she had ever known. She must have screamed, but she did not hear it; her awareness was reduced to the searing pain.

When it ended, she was curled up on the floor, weeping. She had never cried before, but at the moment, her tears meant nothing to her. All that mattered was the lack of pain.

"You will not fail again."

"No, my Lord," she sobbed.

"Take her away."

It took the Seer several long moments to realize that she was no longer in her Lord's presence. She was in the Forbidden Forest, and Sullivan was cursing at her. He must have kicked her; she felt an ache in her stomach that had not been caused by the Cruciatus Curse. Vaguely, it registered in her mind that she'd been spat on and that Sullivan was gone.

Her sole desire was to lie on the forest ground undisturbed. She did so for some time; then, her mind began to squawk about being caught in the forest and being missed in school. She tried to ignore it, but somehow it gained control of her body. She began moving toward the castle.

The sight of the castle returned her senses to her. The Seer knew that she was a wreck: the back of her head was matted with blood, and her face was streaked with tears. Surely, the other students would take note if they saw her.

Thankfully, there were very few students about. The Seer did receive a number of bizarre looks from those few students, but she convinced herself that they were of no consequence. She was tired; she did not want to do a spell on herself or try to explain her appearance. She would allow them to assume and hope they did not sic any teachers on her.

She was within sight of the Hufflepuff dormitory when Luke orbed in front of her. Her heart jumped, and she placed her back against the wall. She didn't need him to see her wound and try to heal her. "Luke! What are you doing here?"

His worry was obvious, but the Seer was having difficulty reading him—likely because she was not in top form. "Rhiannon," he said and stopped, mouth drawn into a thin line and brow wrinkled. "Are you all right?"

"Yes," she hurriedly answered. "Are _you_ all right? You look…" Helplessly, she waved her hand. He looked as though he suspected her, but she couldn't say that.

"I suppose I would." Sighing, he ran his hand through his hair, and the Seer suddenly saw how young he was. He hadn't been a whitelighter long, she knew, but she didn't know how he had come to be a whitelighter. She didn't know how he had died, what his life had been like. Previously, this had been of no consequence to her; now, she was bursting to find out.

"Ray—" And he turned away. The Seer took one step away from the wall, hesitated, and then touched him. Luke looked over his shoulder at her.

"Luke, what's wrong?" The tenderness in her voice was a surprise to her. She hadn't known she was capable of such convincing deception.

He had looked away, but his sagging body was enough expression for her. She found herself relying on that for guidance, and not her psychic ability. "I—I've been having trouble sensing you. Ever since…" He turned back toward her, his lips trembling slightly in his attempt to smile. "Never mind, it doesn't matter now. I sensed you earlier, and you were in pain."

The Seer took a step back. He wasn't supposed to sense that! He was supposed to sense that she was alive, nothing more! For a moment, she let panic rule her; then, she beat it back and turned a calm eye on Luke. "Minor incident in Herbology. Biting roots. I'm all healed up." She held up her hand as proof and smiled.

He didn't look convinced. "Are you sure?"

She laughed. "Of course I'm sure, Luke. I was there at the time."

"I couldn't feel where you were."

The Seer formulated a plan on the spot and carried it out. "Luke," she said in a soft voice, "since mom died, my powers have been a little… well, spotty. It's been hard, going on while I have this power. It doesn't make sense to me that I didn't know what was going to happen." Those wrestlers were having a rematch in her stomach. "Do you think that maybe you…?" She let the sentence go unfinished.

To her horror, she saw something familiar blossoming in his eyes… something that corresponded to the feeling in her gut. "No, Luke, please don't look like that," she desperately said and seized his arms. "It wasn't your fault! It was…" A demon's fault. A demon like her. The Seer felt herself rotating away from Luke. She knew what she was doing a second after it was too late.

"And it wasn't—what's that?" Luke demanded, grabbing the Seer's shoulders.

"Nothing!" she shrilly cried and broke free. "It's fine, it's fine!"

"Let me heal it."

"No, I'm fine." She began to back toward the portrait of the three women that guarded the Hufflepuff quarters. "The wound's gone. It's just—Pan—the blood." The portrait opened, and she put one leg in. "I'm going to take a shower. I'll see you later, Luke." With that, she disappeared fully into the common room.

There were some Hufflepuffs present, and they all stared at her. Ignoring their gaze, she got up to her room as quickly as her stressed body could take her. Only one of her roommates was there, but the Seer barely glanced at her before she went into the bathroom and stripped off her clothes.

The water was unkind to her fresh wound, but somehow, the stinging pain felt good. While it did not calm the turmoil within her, it did give her a focal point. The Seer thought of the pain and only the pain. She did not think of what she was doing to Luke; she did not think of what she had done to James; she did not think of her manipulation of Phoebe. All she needed to think of was the pain.

Her arms were tight around herself, and her breathing was becoming audible over the cascading water. Strange, half-animalistic sounds were coming from her; they were rising up from the conflict packed inside her. But something more was coming.

Hanging out of the shower, the Seer grabbed her wand and cast a silencing spell. Then, she dropped to her knees for the third time that day and released a scream. Her thoughts, chaotic and incoherent, became her new focal point.

_Phoebe-Luke-James-Sirius…no, not him… how can…it's wrong…Phoebe-Luke-James-Sirius…demon, I'm a demon…have to remember…can't betray…Phoebe-Luke-James-Sirius…_

And once more, she screamed.

**A/N: Now that I have access to Voldemort himself, I better get some reviews.**


	16. Slytherin Smiles and Dr Remus

**A/N: This was not an easy chapter to write. Sports are bizarre, bizarre things, but I tried my best with the Quidditch scene.**

**Poseidon's Chickadee: Hmm… perhaps I will do a Piper/James story sometime in the future. Certainly would be interesting. Sympathy for the Seer is good—personally, I like her. Hope you enjoy this chapter too, and thanks for the review.**

**charmedchick34: Poor Rhiannon indeed. Thank you for reviewing. **

The weeks that followed the incident with Anton were unremarkable. There were no ghost scenes, no voices; the vanquished warlock did not reappear. Prue fell into a comfortable ritual, attending classes, taking lessons with her mother and Leo, and practicing Quidditch. The last, perhaps, could be termed remarkable, for it involved Regulus. Prue was very much irritated by the effect he had on her, and she had been making every effort to limit her contact with him. She had succeeded in that endeavor, but it was an incomplete victory. A mere shared gaze across the Quidditch pitch could cause her to stop in her tracks and—once—almost fall off her broom.

In short, she had a problem.

Prue had had boyfriends before, but she had never come across a boy who awoke in her such intense feelings. She'd spent many nights going over his traits, trying to pick from them the ones that she found attractive. There were none. He was arrogant and had an obvious taste for power, and Prue was beginning to suspect that he was prejudiced against muggles and anyone connected to muggles. Physically, he was attractive; she couldn't deny that. However, she liked to believe that his appearance would not elicit such a powerful reaction from her.

Since she couldn't understand her reaction, she sought to suppress it. She built up a store of unpleasant thoughts and accessed it whenever she needed to ground herself. Often, she thought of Sirius. She hadn't forgotten the way that he had used her, and as he was inextricably connected to Regulus, Sirius offered a perfect path to reality. Her system worked well during Quidditch practice, but it was less effective at meals. At those times, Prue depended on Narcissa Black.

Narcissa was not someone Prue would have normally taken as a friend. She was like Regulus—proud, power hungry, and prejudiced—and she had a tendency to be unpleasant. But Prue had glimpsed some emotional depth in her, and on one of few occasions the two had been alone together, Narcissa had even spoken bitterly about her future. She was to be married into the Malfoy family. "It's an honor, of course," she'd said. "Rich, powerful, pureblood… certainly, it would be a great accomplishment for me. The greatest, mother would say."

She had laughed when Prue had suggested that she might be able to avoid the marriage. "No, no," she'd said. "It's an honor." And she'd murmured the word to herself a few times, eyes closed.

There were times when Narcissa was pleasant, usually when Wiccan powers were brought up. It wasn't odd that Narcissa had an interest in Prue's power and in the Warren family powers; Prue was a Charmed One, and the Warrens had always been an important family. What was noteworthy was the fact that there was no greed in Narcissa's eyes whenever those powers were brought up. Instead, there was highly controlled awe, which Prue was only able to detect after careful study. Narcissa admired Wiccan abilities, and it seemed that she wished she were so gifted.

But there was no admiration in Regulus's eyes. They, like Avery's and Wilkes's, filled with bald greed when the talk turned to powers. Prue saw this, and she understood that his greed was probably the impetus behind his contact with her. Yet each time that those eyes connected with hers, logic ceased to exist, and she lost herself to him.

As the first Quidditch match of the year approached, this reaction became more worrisome. She needed to concentrate on the game; she couldn't let Regulus distract her. With that in mind, she redoubled her efforts to steel herself against his influence. She was not perfectly confident in her defenses when the day of the game arrived, but she at least knew that he wouldn't cause her to fall off her broom.

Prue was not bothered much by nerves as the game began. The cheering (and booing) crowd only added to her excitement, and a wild thrill worked through her as both teams kicked off. Stationed in front of the goal posts, Prue did not even think of Regulus. The only people of importance were the Chasers, among whom Prue found James. Sirius, she vaguely noted, was a Beater.

Few cohesive thoughts manifested themselves as Prue twisted and maneuvered in order to guard the goals. Mostly, she acted on instinct, riding the waves of adrenaline that were coursing through her. James managed to get the Quaffle past her a few times, but he was the only one to do so.

If it hadn't happened to James, she might not have noticed at all. He had fallen back suddenly, and Prue was watching him when Bevan Mansell, Slytherin Beater, clocked him on the back with his bat. Madam Hooch did not catch this, but Regulus did. When he did nothing, Prue's anger got the better of her, and Mansell's bat went hurtling toward the ground. Regulus looked at her in surprise, a shade of annoyance creeping onto his features.

The elation Prue had been feeling left her, and she played the rest of the game purely on anger. It was almost a relief to her when the Gryffindor Seeker caught the Snitch and ended the game. Sirius and James might have cast a curious glance at her; she did not really notice or care. Her focus was on Regulus, who failed to reprimand Mansell as they filed into the locker room. Prue had avoided touching Regulus in the last few weeks, fearing what it would do to her, but she now grabbed him and dragged him away from the door.

"What the hell was that?" she demanded.

Regulus, as always, was composed. "Nothing serious," he said, freeing himself from Prue's grip. "It seems to me that it was merely the competition getting to him."

Prue's anger surged. "He cheated, and you didn't say a word."

"Again," Regulus patiently said, "it was just—"

"No, it wasn't," Prue brusquely cut him off. "He's in the habit of doing that, I could tell." She paused, but not long enough for him to interject further excuses. "I can't be part of a team that allows cheating."

His composure flickered. "You actually want me to reprimand him right now? We just lost!"

"Deservedly so. If this is the normal conduct—"

"Conduct?" For the first time, Regulus directed a sneer at her. "You've been on this team hardly three months, and you're giving commentary on conduct?"

A small hurt started within her. She ignored it and cooled her voice. "Sorry, I didn't know I had to leave behind my morals when I stepped on that pitch."

His expression changed to one of exasperation. "You'd walk away over _this_?"

"Yes," she said simply.

There was a long pause; then, Regulus spoke. "Well, I can't have you leaving, can I? You were brilliant." He seemed to struggle within himself for a moment, and he suddenly looked as though he had swallowed something exceptionally bitter. "I'll have a word with him, tell him not to do it again."

"As long as he doesn't do it again."

Prue's temper improved only slightly as she changed out of her robes. Her first Quidditch game, and Regulus and Mansell had managed to ruin it. It had been going so well, too; she had even thought that the team had great dynamics. Perhaps they did, but it was apparent to her that they were morally corrupt. No one else had brought up Mansell's action, though Prue was sure most of them had witnessed it.

She only just stopped herself from stomping out. She didn't stop herself from placing obstacles behind her when Regulus started to follow her. "Prue"—he dodged a branch that was currently trying to take a shot at his head—"I'm sorry about that, okay? Damn!" Prue glanced back and smiled when she saw that he had fallen over a rock. "Would you call these things off?"

"Why should I?" she blithely called back.

"Because I would like to talk to you. _Flamen_!" He blasted away the branch. "I can see that you're upset."

Prue whirled around. "Oh, and I thought that Sirius was the mind-reader! Honestly, Reg, what tipped you off?"

She was happy to see him looking ruffled. "If I say it was the competition getting to me," he began. Prue didn't let him finish.

"Then you may find yourself flying without the aid of a broom." Prue crossed her arms as the Slytherin smile took control of her mouth.

Regulus changed tactics quickly. "Why don't I make this up to you? There's a Hogsmeade trip coming up soon; I know a nice place I could take you to."

Prue's smile grew wider. "Like a date?"

"Very much," Regulus replied, some of his composure returning. "In fact, you might go so far as to say that it is a date."

Prue stared at him. A strand of ivy, unnoticed by him, was crawling up his leg and heading for his wand. She was trying to hold on to her anger, but it was like trying to clutch handfuls of air. He was a prat, an utter prat, but he was cute with his hair mussed and his robes in disarray. He was even cuter with a hint of anxiety in his dark eyes; Prue took perverse pleasure in drawing out the silence and increasing that anxiety. She was going to say no, of course, but first she wanted to torture him a little.

She stopped the ivy and cleared away all the obstacles. Letting out a little sigh, she adopted a look of superiority. And then, something very strange happened: she said yes.

He grinned—an odd thing for him—and almost approached her. Wisely, he opted to remain where he was. "Excellent. I look forward to it." Then, he walked away, giving her a wide berth. He was out of earshot when Prue found her voice and exclaimed, "Wait, I didn't mean that!"

She considered chasing after him but rejected the thought. She was not going to give him the upper hand like that; additionally, she didn't know that she could be trusted to tell him no. Prue hadn't even seen that self-betrayal coming—who knew what she was capable of!

So instead of doing anything, Prue stood dumbly staring at the ground. How had that happened? How could she have done something so stupid when she'd intended to do the smart thing? If Prue had been moving, she might have frozen at the thought; as it was, her breath hitched in her throat. That was it—it had to be! But how to confirm it?

Prue groaned involuntarily. She knew who she had to go to. She didn't like it, but they were the experts on magical manipulation. They'd be celebrating, of course, but perhaps she could separate Remus (for she only needed one of them) from the crowd and quickly ask him. If she was lucky, James and Sirius wouldn't even notice her.

Okay, so that was wishful thinking. The moment the Slytherin Keeper waltzed into the Gryffindor tower, all eyes would be on her. At the moment, though, Prue didn't care. She only cared about her Regulus problem.

The celebration initially worked to Prue's advantage. There were plenty of people slipping in and out of the tower, and she was able to follow an oblivious, food-toting Gryffindor through the portrait hole. Prue kept her head down and edged her way toward Remus, who was much nearer to the center of the room than she liked. She had her hand on his arm when the room went silent. She had been spotted.

The murmuring was immediate. Her name was repeated over and over again, along with certain unkind words that Prue ignored. "May I have a word with you?" she said quietly to Remus. He looked confused, but nodded and followed her out of the tower.

Words were difficult to find, and even when she found them, they were more inclined to remain in her brain than leave her mouth. "I have a… query, of sorts, into magical manipulation." Hastily, she amended her statement. "I'm not saying that you're manipulative, it's just—"

"It's just that I hang out with James and Sirius, who very much are manipulative," Remus finished. "I'm not offended, Prue."

"Good. Now, I…" The Fat Lady was a little too interested in their conversation. Prue moved them away from her. "I think someone's magically manipulating me."

"What sort of manipulation?"

Prue felt as though she was in the doctor's office, discussing an embarrassing affliction. "Well—of attractive forces," she said, struggling to keep color out of her cheeks.

"Ah. I'll need a description of the… symptoms," he said and unwittingly furthered the clinical comparison.

"Kind of hard to describe." Prue shifted uncomfortably. "When I'm with him, it's hard to think of anything other than him. And I can never say no to him, or ignore him when he talks to me, even though I know he's an insufferable arse."

Remus ducked his head to hide a smile, attempting to pass it off as a contemplative motion. "No Wiccan powers?"

"No."

"He hasn't slipped you anything? Made prolonged eye contact while muttering?"

"No." Her conviction that her reaction was magical was becoming less powerful. It was possible, after all, that she was just the victim of an unfortunate crush.

"Any suspect behavior?"

"Not really," Prue admitted. "I may have overreacted, in fact. I'm sorry about taking you away from the celebration for something so silly, Remus. You—"

Remus interrupted her: "He might just be subtle. May I?" He took her hand and pressed his wand to her wrist. A small 'x' flashed into being. "This should offer some protection. You might also want to try a mind-clearing potion."

Prue examined the mark, relief rising within her. "Thank you. I owe you one."

"No, you don't," he said. "I haven't forgotten what you did for me."

Prue shrugged. "What did I do, really, other than endure Sirius?"

He laughed. "That's enough, believe me."

Their parting was awkward and involved Prue muttering another thank-you while Remus waved it off. The encounter left her feeling embarrassed, relieved, and thoroughly determined to concoct a mind-clearing potion before her date—if she found herself unable to cancel it.

* * *

Frilly. That was the first word that came to mind when Prue entered the tea shop Regulus had taken her to. The tables were coated with lace, and the wallpaper depicted scenes that Prue was certain had been taken from the covers of very sappy romance novels. It was sheer willpower that kept her from chortling.

She had downed a mind-clearing potion before she'd ventured out of her room, and it was having a marked effect on her interaction with Regulus. Her attraction to him was not diminished, unfortunately, but she was able to observe him more objectively than she usually did. Yet he complicated things by being entirely unlike himself. His arrogance was toned down, though still present, and he was making every effort to keep her happy.

She might have been suspicious of him, but he had been acting like this since the Quidditch match. Narcissa had suggested that he was afraid of her. It was an easy explanation, but it was not the right one. There was something off about him; she just didn't know what.

At the moment, he was annoyingly collected. He did everything right, it seemed; he was a perfect gentleman. In return, Prue was a perfect lady. Until she turned her head and saw something that loosened an unladylike curse from her tongue.

"Something the matter?"

"My God," Prue muttered, not having heard Regulus. "She would go that low?"

Regulus followed her burning gaze. "Potter. I don't suppose you're happy to see Phoebe with him?"

"No," she replied. "I strictly forbid her from seeing James, and I told him to stay away from her." With effort, she looked away from the couple and instead glowered at the sugar bowl on their table. "She planned this, of course."

"Well, he's not pleased to see us either." He had also looked away, and Prue's eyes went up to meet his. "Never did like me. Sirius turned him against me before I'd even laid eyes on him."

Her laugh was short and mirthless. "Siblings," said Prue, layering contempt on the word.

Phoebe's own laugh drew Prue's attention back to her, and she watched in great agitation as Phoebe gently kissed James's hand. Prue was startled out of her fury when Regulus's fingers brushed over hers.

"You know, I think we can turn this around on her," he said, leaning in. Prue imitated him and tried to deny the pleasure that swelled inside her when his breath tickled her ear. "This will annoy the hell out of him."

Prue glanced at James and found that he was indeed looking unhappy. "So I see. Is it—" She halted, not wanting to offend him.

"Yes, it's me," he confirmed. "If we have a good time, Potter will be upset, and that'll pretty much ruin their date."

Phoebe had moved herself closer to James. Prue had a feeling that she was going to start groping him soon. "How devious," she said. "I like it." The Slytherin smile found its way onto her face.

Regulus returned it. "Now… where were we?"

"I believe I was asking you if you come here often," Prue said.

"Only with special girls," he smoothly answered.

There was a woman swooning into a bare-chested man's arms behind Regulus. Prue found that depiction particularly amusing, and she had been dying to comment on it. "Well, with all of this"—with a sweeping motion, she indicated the scenes on the wallpaper—"I'm expecting quite a lot from you. Tell me," she said and, keeping a straight face, pointed at the man behind Regulus, "have you ever considered having your hair like that? Personally, I think the wind-whipping-through-raven-locks look would work for you."

Regulus's eyebrows went up, but he also managed to keep a straight face. "Ah, but would I be able to pull it off shirtless?"

"I can't properly judge that," Prue said, straying into dangerous territory. "I've never seen you shirtless."

Prue had a feeling that if they hadn't been surrounded by people, he would have taken his shirt off right then and there. But they were where they were, so he instead grinned at her. "Well, I'll have to remedy that soon," he said.

They spent some time discussing the wallpaper and debating whether Prue would look good in the off-the-shoulder dress one of the women was wearing. Regulus maintained that she would look better than the woman, and though the depictions were mostly unresponsive, that woman took personal offense and glared at Regulus.

Eventually, they worked their way to family. "You know all about my family," Prue said, "but I know nothing about the Blacks."

"Not surprising, considering who your grandmother is," replied Regulus. Off her look, he continued, "My great-great-grandfather, Phineas Nigellus Black, was highly devoted to your grandmother. He spent his widowed life trying to win her over. He felt he'd be doing the wizarding world a great favor, joining his power—he was a Wiccan wizard—to Penny Warren's power."

"Ooh, bad choice of argument," Prue said, shaking her head.

"Quite," said Regulus. "She was outraged, and took to hexing him whenever he came near her. The way his portrait tells it, Penny Warren took the Halliwell name in order to spite him."

"I don't doubt it. Grams can be very spiteful."

There was a pause, during which he obviously contemplated Professor Halliwell's demeanor. Tactfully, he didn't go into it further. "And of course, there were always whispers about Portia Bowen and Evaristus Black, my great-great-great-grandfather."

The pleasant ease Prue had been enjoying ebbed. Portia Bowen…Evaristus Black… She was certain she had never heard those names before, but there was something about them that was giving her a sense of déjà vu. "I've never heard of Portia Bowen," she said, her voice hushed. "Who was she?"

"A Warren witch. She was Hogwarts headmistress at one point, but she left abruptly. After that, she became a recluse—no one really knows why."

She repeated the names a few times in her head, wondering if she was wrong and had heard them before.

"Prue?"

Prue snapped out of her reverie. "It seems that I have a bit to learn about my own family," she said. "Might have to track down a family tree."

Levity soon returned to their conversation, and the rest of their date played out well. Regulus laughed and smiled more freely than he usually did; Prue couldn't recall a time when she had seen him more relaxed. When they walked back to Hogwarts, Prue's arm linked with his. Remus's spell was still in place, so she knew that she could only blame herself when their lips met.

He was looking so uncharacteristically sweet when they parted that Prue seized him and kissed him again. The end of that kiss delivered a realization to her: there was no manipulation here, and there never had been. It was only her response to him.

In short, she was doomed.

**A/N: If these chapters wrote themselves, I wouldn't need any encouragement. But they don't, so I do. So review already! **


	17. Unexpected Apologies

**A/N: All right, I'll admit that I've been neglecting Paige and Piper. There was a fair amount of Paige at the beginning, though; you have to give me that much.**

**Poseidon's Chickadee: Have some Paige! -throws Paige- And Remus is getting some action, if you count teasing as action. Much love for the review.**

**charmedchick34: Have some Piper! -throws Piper- Gracias.**

Piper was worried. This, admittedly, was not an unusual state of being for her; Piper often worried about her sisters, school, or forces of evil. But right now, she was worried about Lily, who had been absent from dinner and whom Piper hadn't seen much of all day. There were many possible explanations for her absence, but Piper felt that it had to do with her highly rebellious sister, whom she had spotted heading off to Hogsmeade with James. Piper fully expected an explosive argument between her and Prue when the two returned.

Piper winced at the thought. That, however, was something she could do nothing about. Pushing aside the future unpleasantness, she made her way to the Ravenclaw common room. Upon entering the room, Piper discovered Lily sitting in front of the fire, scowling and flicking scraps of paper into the flames. "Lily?"

The redhead turned, the scowl fading from her face. "Hi," she greeted dolefully and looked back at the fire.

"Er—are you all right?" Piper asked, seating herself on the couch. "I didn't see you at dinner."

"Oh, I'm fine." Lily's attempt at a smile was painful to watch. The smile fell apart in seconds.

Piper was reluctant to probe Lily—who was she to do so? Yet in the last few weeks, she had come to truly care about Lily and consider her a friend. She didn't want to see her so upset, not if she could do something to help her. "I know this is really none of my business," she began, "but is it James?"

Lily's shoulders drooped, and, sighing, she looked at Piper. "Is it that obvious?"

"Well… let's just say it wouldn't take a psychic to see it." Piper traced the pattern in the upholstery with her finger, forming her next sentence with care. "If you're worried about Phoebe, you shouldn't be. I would be willing to bet that she'll be going after Sirius next, or Remus."

Lily snickered. "Not Black. He's mad about Rhiannon Williams, can't take his eyes off her."

"The point is—"

Lily waved her hand. "You don't need to go on," she said. "Even if Phoebe didn't intend on dumping Potter, he'd be onto the next girl as soon after he'd had enough of her. He's never been very kind to girls' hearts." She wadded up another scrap of paper and threw it into the fire. She seemed particularly satisfied by this paper's demise.

Subtly, Piper tried to sneak a glance at what was written on the papers. It was difficult to read them upside-down, but she did catch some telling phrases: love your eyes…such grace…beautiful…

"They're love notes from Potter," Lily explained, still staring into the fire.

"You've kept them," commented Piper quietly.

Lily flushed and squirmed a little. "Yeah. I know it's stupid—I mean, James is a git, but…" She shook her head. "I don't know."

"I understand," Piper said, noting Lily's use of James's first name. "When I was nine, I got a valentine from this one boy I fancied, and even though he'd given one to everyone, I held on to it for years." A blush began to rise in her own cheeks, and she twisted her hands. "Pathetic, isn't it? But you're pretty, and you know that he likes you. There's a chance."

"Piper!" Lily stood up, hands on her hips. "You are not pathetic, and I don't ever want to hear you saying such things ever again. Do you understand?"

Piper avoided Lily's eyes. "Come on, Lily. If you knew me—"

"If I knew you?" Lily sputtered. "I may not know you inside and out, Piper, but I know this: you're amazing with charms, you can put up a fight, and you're smart." Tipping Piper's chin up, she forced Piper to look into her eyes. "You know who's pathetic? People like James Potter and Sirius Black, who pass judgment on everybody else."

"But James apologized for that."

Lily's hand dropped, and she blinked several times. "What? He apologized?" Shakily, she sat next to Piper.

"Yeah, a while ago," she said. "And he told me that I was a formidable power."

"You are," Lily replied distractedly. "But… Potter? Apologizing?" Confusion and concentration commingled on her face in an almost humorous fashion. It was truly as though the situation was unfathomable to her.

"Perhaps he's not as shallow as you think he is," Piper said.

Lily made no response, instead peering thoughtfully at the pile of love notes.

"Why not give him a chance?"

"Never," Lily declared. "I wouldn't give him the opportunity to be more cocky than he already is. You can have him, though, if you want him."

Piper knew that her cheeks were as red as Lily's hair. "He would never—I mean, just look at me, I'm—" Her lips curled into a bitter smile. "I'm not like you. You're beautiful."

Her friend scoffed. "Who slipped you a Babbling Beverage?"

"I am self-aware enough to realize what I look like, Lily."

Lily got out her wand. Piper shrank back slightly. "Is it just the braces, or is it the glasses too?" Lily asked briskly.

"Um… both." Piper eyed Lily's wand warily. "You don't intend to do a spell, do you?"

With an impatient flick, Lily dismissed Piper's concern. "You won't even feel it. Now open your mouth and hold still. _Evanesco_!" She examined the effect, then added, "_Litura_!" Satisfied, she pointed her wand at Piper's glasses.

"Lily—"

"_Editum conspectus_!"

Piper went cross-eyed for a minute, and then the room became very blurry. When she removed her glasses, she found she could see perfectly. Running her tongue over her teeth, she found them brace-free and straight. She grinned—open-mouthed, as she rarely did.

Lily grinned back at her. "You happy with that? Good. Here's my confession: I'm usually terrible with transfiguration, but I've done that sight spell before. Black went blind once—long story—and we were trapped together, so I had to do that spell. I still can't believe I remembered it right then; it's a very obscure spell."

Piper made a small sound in her throat. "Thank you… I think." There was a pause, during which Piper decided to broach the subject of James again. "Getting back to James," she began.

Lily groaned. "You don't give up, do you?"

"I'd just like to give you my suggestion," she said. "There's a spell in the Book of Shadows that I think would help—a truth spell."

"Why Piper, that's the one and only devious note I've ever heard you sing."

"Technically, it's not me doing the spell, so…"

"You can sleep at night," finished Lily.

Piper shrugged. "If he's forced to tell the truth, maybe he'll drop some of the cockiness and show the real James. Option's open, if you want it."

For a long time, Lily did not speak. Then, she shook her head and half-smiled. "Points for persistence," she said, "but let's talk about something else."

Piper didn't like the gleam in her friend's eyes. "Such as?"

"Leo Wyatt," Lily succinctly replied.

"No, I'd rather not," she said, resisting the urge to bury her face in her hands. Yet again, she was blushing.

"You're perfectly willing to delve into the details of my love life—" Lily stopped short at Piper's distressed moan. "Oh, come now. It's fine to have a crush on him."

"But he's my whitelighter," said Piper, gesturing feebly. "I know my mum loved her whitelighter, but…" She sighed and stared at her hands. "I don't want to think about it."

"Your mum fell for her whitelighter?"

Piper's head jerked up. "You didn't know?"

"No. Patty didn't tell us everything about herself," Lily said, bewilderment plain on her face.

Eagerly, Piper took up this diversion. "Sam Wilder was mum's whitelighter. They fell in love, and he eventually clipped his wings to be with her. They died together, both killed by the water demon."

This sobered Lily. "That's so tragic. There—there are a lot of deaths like that in your family, aren't there?" she said, carefully.

"The price of fighting evil, I guess." This segued into a rather morbid discussion of Warren deaths. Lily knew of some that Piper had not yet heard about, including the goring of Petra and Riley Harmon by an erumpent in 1924. Piper knew nothing of the erumpent, and Lily's explanation placed them on a lighter path of discussion.

There was to be no further mention of Leo that night. In fact, he faded quickly from Piper's mind, and she was able to spend the rest of the night simply enjoying Lily's company.

* * *

There was a hot, sick sensation rolling through Paige's body. It came in waves, peaking every time Phoebe softly giggled or murmured, "Oh, I see now," as she currently was. Out of the corner of her eye, Paige saw Phoebe slide her hand over Remus's hand. "You're such a good teacher, Remus," she said, her voice low enough that it went unnoticed by Leo and Patty. 

She could have asked anyone in that room for help—she was, after all, the worst potions-maker present—but she had asked him. Lily would have been an excellent choice; her vanquishing potion was the perfect shade and consistency, and Leo had praised her for it. He had also praised Paige's potion, but she knew that Phoebe would never come to her for help. She could accept that, but why him? Why not James, who she'd been snogging not three weeks ago? Why not Sirius, who was more attractive than Remus?

"Crikey, Paige." She jumped at the sound of Prue's voice. "You're done already?"

"Yeah," she said, looking at Prue just long enough to see that her vanquishing potion was going quite well. She would be done in no time. Phoebe's potion—her eye was automatically drawn back to her—was nowhere near completion. As Paige watched, Phoebe attempted to slice open an ezob pod in the middle. It was a foolish mistake, one that even Phoebe would be aware of. Remus grabbed her wrist, and Paige turned her head away, the hot-sick feeling rising.

Methodically, she began to bottle her potion. Her mother and Leo had decided that with Christmas break approaching, it would be a good idea to whip up a batch of general vanquishing potions. Paige had thought nothing of this; she had, in fact, been perfectly happy to show off her potions skills. But then Phoebe had pulled Remus over to the desk next to hers, begging his help, and suddenly the room was stifling and too small. All she wanted was to run out.

No, that wasn't true. All Paige really wanted was to scream, "Freebie!" at the top of her lungs. The students here had never heard Phoebe's unfortunate nickname. What if she let that slip?

Paige gave herself a firm mental shake. She couldn't do something so mean to Phoebe. Besides, as of late, Phoebe had begun to show civility toward her. Quidditch was having a great effect on Phoebe; she was happier and kinder, and she hadn't hexed or insulted Paige in weeks. Paige no longer disgusted her sister, and she wanted to keep things that way.

There was still some rebelliousness in Phoebe, but it was limited to her habits with boys. None of them got a chance to become her boyfriend; Phoebe went through them too quickly. It was Paige's belief that boy-using was now a sport to her. It probably had always been so, but after she saw Phoebe play Quidditch, the comparison became obvious. She chased after boys as she did the Quaffle. She didn't want to keep the Quaffle, though; it was just a means to an end.

Paige gripped the edge of her desk as Phoebe quietly laughed. She would not look, she would not look, she would not—

She looked. Phoebe was watching Remus with practiced affection. He was awkward under her gaze, but she knew just how to reassure him. Paige had witnessed her do this once before with Brandon Turner, her math tutor from last year. She wasn't going to act as she had with James. No, she would be gentle and would proceed very slowly. Paige was certain that Remus hadn't noticed her closing the gap between them, though—the hot-sick feeling crested—he clearly noticed her nearness now.

Paige swallowed hard. That feeling had gotten up to her head; her mouth was dry, and her vision was almost swimming with the pain of her developing headache. Maybe she needed to go to the infirmary. Maybe she was dreadfully ill. These symptoms, after all, had come on very quickly—perhaps there was no time to waste.

And yet, she couldn't bring herself to tell her mother that she was sick. She needed to see what Remus would do next, needed to know if he would give in to Phoebe and wander off with her after the lesson to find a private area where they could… Paige closed her eyes and closed that thought off.

"Good, Prue. Piper, you might want to stir that a little more. James, Sirius, very good. Remus, very nice and…" Paige glanced over and saw her mother lean in and whisper, "Thank you."

Thank you? Didn't she realize what Phoebe was doing? Sure, Phoebe needed all the help she could get, but she was using Remus. Sweet, kind Remus, the boy who gave her tips on defense spells she was struggling with, who did not look down on her because of her age. Phoebe was going to break his heart.

Oh no. Oh no, no, no. There were tears prickling at her eyes. Hurriedly, Paige tried to think of something other than poor Remus and his future heartache, but she drew a blank. _Something happy, something happy,_ she chanted in her mind. But there seemed to be no happiness in the world.

So she did what she used to do when Phoebe was making her cry. She leaned forward so that her hair was hiding her face and took in deep, silent breaths. Blocking out Remus's and Phoebe's voices, she listened to Lily and Piper chattering in front of her. She forced herself to note how cheerful Piper sounded, and she thought of how much more confident and calmer Piper was now that she was friends with Lily.

This carried her to the end of the lesson, when she scooped up her potions materials and made for the door. She told herself that she would not look back, not even if she heard—

"Remus, wait."

Paige cursed herself. She was going to turn around, because the door was wide open and if the door was open, nothing private or wrong could take place. She stood at the edge of the doorway and peered in. Phoebe had placed her hands on Remus's chest. Paige didn't catch her whispered words, but nothing could prevent her from watching Phoebe's fingers gently glide over his cheek. Paige's stomach lurched so powerfully that she almost thought she was going to throw up. They were going to kiss, of course. He would lean in, and their mouths would meet and then Paige would cry, because he didn't understand, he didn't realize, he couldn't know that Phoebe was only going to smash his heart.

But the kiss never came. Phoebe turned away to retrieve her cauldron and then walked out of the room, leaving Remus flushed and flustered.

Paige joined her sister as she walked by. "Why are you doing this to him?" she demanded, surprising herself and Phoebe with her forcefulness.

"Doing what?"

"He's nice," she went on. "You shouldn't use him."

Phoebe let out a short laugh. "What if he wants to be used?"

"He—he wouldn't."

"And how would you know?"

"Brandon Turner didn't want to be used," responded Paige.

"Well, Remus isn't Brandon, is he?" Phoebe cast a smirk at her. "I'm not going to get Sirius, not with the way Ray feels about him. I have to make up for him somehow. Xibalba." They entered their room. Piper and Prue had been there for a fair length of time, judging by Prue's concentration on her book. "It's just a bit of fun, Paige."

"What is?" Prue asked, still reading.

"Remus."

Prue frowned. "You're going after him now?"

"Yup," Phoebe replied and slid onto her bed in a self-satisfied manner.

"You really shouldn't. He's a nice boy."

Phoebe's expression soured. "God, what is wrong with you two? Do you both fancy him?"

Paige's ears burned, but Prue ignored the comment. "Remus isn't like James," she said, setting aside her book. "Don't bother with him if you're just going to throw him away. He doesn't deserve it."

"If he wanted me to stop, he would have—"

"That's not the point," interrupted Prue. "You'll hurt him."

"He's not made of glass, okay?"

"But he can still break," Piper suddenly said. Phoebe spared her a brief glance before she threw up her hands and turned, scowling, back to Prue.

"Fine! I'll leave him alone."

Paige lowered herself onto her own bed. She didn't like Phoebe right now, and the shift that was occurring on Phoebe's face only made her warier. Phoebe was transitioning from annoyance to—what? Paige struggled to identify it, but couldn't until Phoebe spoke.

"What about you, Prue?" It would have sounded like an accusation, had there not been unease mixed into her tone.

Prue waited for her to continue. After fidgeting for a minute, Phoebe hopped up and strode over to Prue. "You and Regulus," she said, looking pained. "James could tell you all about him, you know."

Prue smiled indulgently. "And what would he say?"

"That he's evil!" It seemed that Phoebe had been waiting for a long time to say this. She was gesturing more than usual, and her impatient movements lacked the grace Phoebe normally bestowed on them.

"Ah," Prue said, picking up her book, "James, the boy I forbid you from dating, had the decency to tell you that his best mate's brother, whom Sirius hates, is evil."

"I'm not dating him! I just snogged him, all right? And—" She clamped her mouth shut, but then, she went on. "I'm sorry about that date thing, okay?"

Prue looked up, her mouth a perfect 'o' of surprise. "You're sorry?"

"Yes, I am," Phoebe muttered. In a louder voice, she said, "But maybe I was right to interfere with your date. Do you even know Regulus's opinion on half-bloods and muggleborns? Or how about Voldemort, for that matter?"

Shaking with anger, Prue stood. "What are you saying?"

"People like him call muggleborns mudbloods," Phoebe said. The concern in her voice was no longer masked. "They hate muggles—all they care about is pure blood! Please, Prue." She took Prue's arm. Prue stared at her, caught somewhere between wonder and anger. "Sirius says that he's even looking at Voldemort favorably. Just watch out, will you?"

Silence settled over the room. Presently, Prue looked away and jerked her head in what might have been a nod. "But I don't think he's like that," she murmured. "I'm a half-blood, and he… he doesn't…"

"Well," said Phoebe, helping Prue over to her bed, "maybe he's changed. But if he hasn't, Piper, Paige, and I will give him an arse-kicking he won't soon forget. Right?" She turned to her other sisters.

Through her thick shock, Paige heard Phoebe's prompt and nodded. Piper echoed her gesture.

Happily, Phoebe sat next to Prue. "See, your sisters won't let you get hurt."

Paige's heart contracted in a pleasantly painful way. Your sisters. Not your two real sisters and that half-sister we can't get rid of. Your sisters.

**A/N: I liked Paige's bit quite a lot. Oh, Paige, I shouldn't have neglected you. You're fun to write.**


	18. First Snow

**A/N: this thing has been sitting around for a while, stubbornly refusing to be good.**** But here it is, at last.**

**Charmedchick34: ****Leo is much older than Piper, but ****he won't be getting involved with her at the moment. Thank you for reviewing.**

**Poseidon's Chickadee: ****Sorry to say this, but**** Leo isn't really going to notice Piper in this ****fic****. Paige, too, isn't going to end up with anyone, but there will be hints of a future love… Thanks for the review.**

**Liz Black:**** I'm a terrible updater, but I think I'll be able to do two or three chapters in the upcoming weeks. Thank you for reading and reviewing.**

**Hussam: ****I'm glad that you like it. It's definitely not over yet, so keep an eye out.**

The Seer was trying to resist the urge to raise her eyes above Dumbledore's steepled fingers to meet his eyes—trying, but failing miserably. Her eyes were rising of their own volition, and now, she was staring into the headmaster's eyes. There was no twinkle to them; Dumbledore looked grave. It made the Seer nervous. "You are adjusting well, Miss Williams?"

"Oh yes," she answered, smiling. "I really love Hogwarts."

"Good." His gaze left her, and he scanned the room, as though looking for some hidden enemy. "You are keeping yourself well guarded against Anton?"

At this, the Seer frowned. "Yes, sir." She had yet to figure out Anton, and the vanquished warlock's elusiveness was beginning to irritate her. Surely, it was irritating Lord Voldemort.

Dumbledore's eyes returned to her. Casually, he said, "You know, Hogwarts is very well protected. It is remarkable that a warlock slipped through the castle's defenses."

The Seer's heart sped up. She fought this influx of anxiety and kept her voice calm. "I should say so, sir."

"The protection of Hogwarts is not perfect," he continued. "It does not extend to such places as the forest." Dumbledore paused, and the Seer's mouth went dry.

"I—I see."

When he leaned forward, the Seer shrank back. "Why, Miss Williams, have you been tempting fate by so often entering the forest?"

Her acting skills finally kicked in, and the Seer shyly lowered her eyes. "Ah, that's… rather embarrassing." She needed to blush, so she thought of a dream she had recently had about Sirius. Heat rose in her cheeks. "And stupid, actually." She gave the proper pause, then cleared her throat. "Sir, I've been sneaking into the forest so that I could meet my boyfriend. He's still living in the United States, and I miss him terribly. I suppose I've earned myself a detention or two."

He was silent so long that she was forced to look up at him. Dumbledore was not an easy man to read—she couldn't even imagine her power working on him—but she was able to detect light disappointment in his expression. "Love is a precious thing, but I do not believe it is worth risking your power. A witch as powerful as yourself is a great temptation to dark forces. Any warlock would kill to have your ability." The Seer understood his implication, and found it somewhat amusing. Voldemort, after all, couldn't steal a demon's powers. "I will give you a warning only, Miss Williams, but if I find that you have defied me, punishment will be swift."

"It won't happen again, sir."

He nodded. "You may go."

The portraits in the office began to tut before she had even left her seat. "Really, Dumbledore, a mere warning?" said Phineas Nigellus. The Seer glanced at the paintings—and froze.

"You are the first to notice," came Dumbledore's soft voice. "I am sure you realize who it is."

"Yes," she murmured, looking from the portrait of Dexter Fortescue to that of Irmgard Dorson. She knew that another portrait should lie between them. "Why—"

Dumbledore's hand landed on her shoulder, and she jumped. "I will ask that you not mention this to anyone."

Though the Seer knew it was pointless, she tried to get a read on him. She failed. "Of course, sir." She exited the office, an awareness of Dumbledore's eyes on her persisting even as the stairs carried her away. Why, she wondered as she tried to shake off his gaze, was Portia Bowen's portrait missing?

* * *

"A warning?" Phoebe looked at her friend, fully expecting to find a satisfied smirk on her face. But Rhiannon's face was passive; she only nodded in response to Phoebe's question. "Nice. How'd you manage that?"

Now that smirk surfaced. "I told him I'd been meeting my boyfriend out there."

"Oh, so you and Sirius go out to the forest to snog?" said Phoebe. She had to jump to the side to avoid the swipe Rhiannon took at her.

"If you weren't my best friend—" But there she stopped, blinking in a bewildered fashion.

Phoebe grinned, though she felt a little a puzzled herself. "I guess it's a good thing I am your best friend," she said, "or you'd have to come up with an actual threat." Rhiannon said nothing, and she leapt to her feet when Phoebe moved toward her. "What's the matter?" she asked, alarmed.

Rhiannon's mouth opened, but again, no words passed her lips. Her eyes, which had been darting back and forth, had just settled on the window across the room. "It's snowing." She spoke with a kind of wonder Phoebe never would have associated her with.

Sinking deeper into confusion, Phoebe replied, "Yeah, it started up a while ago."

There was none of the nervous energy she had before displayed in her when Rhiannon glided over to the window and placed her hands on the sill. "It's beautiful," she breathed. Her longing was palpable; Phoebe was unsurprised when Rhiannon pressed her fingertips to the glass and sighed with want. "Sometimes I think about how beautiful this world is, and I wish… I wish… but wishing isn't going to change things, is it?"

"Maybe not, but vanquishing will."

Rhiannon whirled around, horror-stricken. "_What_?"

Phoebe blinked. "Are we talking about the same thing? Because I thought you were talking about evil screwing up a beautiful world, and I'd say that vanquishing would help with that."

"Oh. Of course." She turned back to the window, and in a slightly higher voice repeated, "Of course."

This conversation was becoming more bizarre by the minute. "Ray," Phoebe asked, rising to join her friend, "are you feeling okay?"

"Yes, I—look at that!" There was wonder to match Rhiannon's earlier tone on her face as she gestured toward a group of people cavorting in the snow. "It's those Marauders. They look like they're having fun, don't they?"

Phoebe squinted and saw that it was indeed the four Marauders who were conducting a spirited snowball fight. It appeared that Remus and Peter were fighting against James and Sirius. "Yeah, they're having a good time," she agreed.

Rhiannon giggled. "Remus just got Sirius, did you see?" Phoebe confirmed that she had, but it seemed that Rhiannon wasn't listening to her. "Nice shot, James," she went on. "Poor Peter, he's just not very good at this. Hey! Sirius turned on James, it's a free-for-all now."

"We could go out there."

Rhiannon turned toward her. "You know," she slowly said, "we could go out there." Her eyes lit up. "Yes—and we could help them. We could be a part of this. We could throw off the strictures that have been imposed on us, and we could truly live!"

She wasn't even going to attempt to understand this. Phoebe shrugged and said, "I'll get my cloak."

Minutes later, they were in the middle of the fray, taking neither sides nor prisoners as they threw snowballs hither and thither. The Marauders had no issues with the newcomers; they were perfectly happy to bury them in snow. James had a slight advantage, being able to conjure snowballs, but everyone present put up a good fight. Even Peter managed a couple good shots. The end of the battle came only because of sheer exhaustion—or, in Rhiannon's case, boredom.

"It's a beautiful world, and it's worth fighting for!" she sang and twirled in the cascading snow. Anyone else would have looked ridiculous (and quite insane), but Rhiannon only looked poised as she danced about.

Phoebe lolled on the ground, bemused yet entertained by Rhiannon's antics. Before the Marauders could ask, she announced that she had no idea what had happened to Ray but that she was certain she was still in her right mind. "Fairly certain, anyway," she added when Rhiannon threw herself to the ground and squealed in delight.

Rhiannon soon quieted, and her movements stilled. Concerned, Phoebe made to get up, but then Ray was pulling her up. "You are bloody fast, you know?"

"Let's go shopping," gushed Rhiannon.

"What?"

"Christmas shopping, at Hogsmeade." She began to pull Phoebe toward the castle; then, she dropped Phoebe's hand and did a half-pirouette over to Sirius. She kissed his cheek and, grinning impishly, began a mad dash toward the castle. "Come on, Pheebs!"

Phoebe glanced at the Marauders. Other than Sirius, who was looking pleased, they were all equally mired in confusion.

"You're sure you don't…?" James started.

"I'm sure," said Phoebe. With that, she was chasing after Rhiannon.

They used the mirror passageway to get into Hogsmeade. Rhiannon was tireless, and while Phoebe lagged behind and complained about the cold, she went briskly from shop to shop, evaluating the wares with a critical eye. She sent Phoebe away at one point, insistent on keeping her gift secret. Afterward, they grabbed warming butterbeers at the Three Broomsticks.

It was as she was observing the contentment in Rhiannon's posture that Phoebe realized what was wrong with her. Rhiannon didn't just like Sirius; she was hopelessly in love with him. Phoebe almost brought this up, but she remembered how Rhiannon had reacted to the suggestion that she liked Sirius. A mention of love would only incite a more passionate response, which, considering Rhiannon's current behavior, was intimidating.

So Phoebe kept her realization to herself. It wasn't difficult to hold it in that day, but as the next week wore on, it became more difficult to ignore how much Rhiannon loved Sirius. They flirted across the hall during meals—well, Sirius flirted; Ray mostly just smiled and shook her head. Mistletoe mysteriously popped up whenever Rhiannon came near Sirius, and she never resisted his kisses. Phoebe even saw Rhiannon hurriedly push a present into Sirius's arms and then run away, blushing.

"It's nothing naughty," replied an embarrassed Rhiannon when Phoebe questioned her about it. "It's just a set of enchanted mirrors. I figured that he and James would like them."

Phoebe quirked her eyebrow. It was difficult to squash the urge to tease her mercilessly, but she managed it.

Rhiannon must have seen the threat of an attack. "I wouldn't say anything," she said, producing a package from nowhere. "Or you might not get your present."

After promising that she wouldn't say a word and retrieving the gift she had for Ray, Phoebe accepted the book-shaped bundle. "_Charm Your Own Cheese_?" She looked up at her friend, waiting for an explanation.

Rhiannon was wrapping the black velvet scarf around her neck and was completely ignoring her friend. "This thing is to die for," she sighed. "Thank you, Pheebs."

"Hello?" Phoebe waved the book in Rhiannon's face. "I appreciate the gift, but do I really need to charm my cheese? I think it's fine uncharmed, actually."

"Oh, this isn't about cheese. Watch." Opening to a random page, Rhiannon placed a quill in the book and snapped it shut. When she opened it again, the quill was gone.

"So it's a book that eats quills?"

"Of course not. Keep watching." With a flourish, she reopened the book and ran her finger along the space between the pages. The tip of the quill appeared at the bottom of the book, and Rhiannon pulled it out. "Voilà!

Phoebe gingerly took the book in her hands. "Wow. Suddenly my gift looks—"

"Don't insult the scarf!"

Phoebe grinned. "Thank you, Ray."

It was at that moment that a note slithered in through the portrait hole and over to Rhiannon. "Oh, Sirius." Rhiannon smiled in the way she did whenever Sirius was flirting with her at meals. She looked so serene as she was reading Sirius's note that Phoebe couldn't bring herself to tease her. "Oh, Sirius," she said again, bringing the note up to her lips and closing her eyes.

Phoebe looked away then. She felt as though she was intruding on some intimate moment. She almost felt compelled to leave the room. But the moment ended, and Rhiannon began to chatter about how excited she was to spend Christmas with her cousins. Her excitement was contagious, and soon Phoebe was confessing her own eagerness to spend some time with her family. It was a surprising statement, but a true one. Phoebe wanted to be with her family – though she was going to miss Rhiannon and Hogwarts.

* * *

All eyes were on her. "What?" Phoebe said, shifting. "You like potions, don't you?"

Paige finally closed her mouth. Staring down at the book in her lap – _The Art of Potions_ – she nodded. "Thank you, Phoebe."

"You're welcome." The collective shock in the room began to dissipate, and Piper distributed her gifts. "A broom kit?" Glancing over, Phoebe discovered that Prue had gotten an identical kit. "But we don't even have brooms."

Their mother smiled slyly. "Well" – she reached behind the Christmas tree and pulled out two long boxes – "now you do."

Phoebe's mouth dropped open when her broom was revealed. "Oh my God! Oh, it's beautiful." She ran her hand along the smooth handle. It was like butter. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Jumping up, she threw her arms around her mother. Prue joined her.

Grams's voice broke through her happy haze. "Phoebe, I need you to remember that this broom is a privilege."

"I know," said Phoebe. "And I promise I'll work on my potions." She returned to the broom, examining it from tip to tail.

Grams almost spoke again, but Patty stopped her. "Not now, mother. Paige, why don't you give your gifts?"

Paige picked up the satin satchel that had been sitting next to her all morning. "They're not very fancy," she prefaced.

Piper waved her hand. "I'm sure they're wonderful, Paige."

She presented each person there with a small bottle. "It's perfume – mostly," Paige explained. "I added a little something to each one. Prue, yours has chamomile for relaxation. So does yours, Grams. Piper, yours has basil for confidence. Mom, yours has lilac for protection. Phoebe." She hesitated, eyeing Phoebe fearfully. "Yours has lavender for – calming." She finished with a flinch.

Phoebe uncorked the bottle and inhaled the sweet scent. "Thanks, Paige. It'll be good before Quidditch. I'm always a nervous wreck."

Paige blinked, and then a wide, slightly bewildered smile opened on her face.

Phoebe couldn't help but smile back. "Come one, Prue," she said and got up. "Let's go try out these brooms. I promise I won't outfly you too bad."

"Like you could," Prue shot back, broom in hand.

Grams started to protest. Patty shook her head. "Just stay out of sight, girls," Patty said.

Grams frowned and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, "Absolutely no control over them," that was followed by something that might have been, "She'd better cooperate with Severus."

And then Phoebe was outside and on her broom, and she was too overjoyed to give any thought to Grams's disapproval or wonder who Severus was.

**A/N: I am so looking forward to the next chapter. I've been waiting for it forever.**** Unfortunately, I won't be able to write it until after finals. Alas.**


	19. Possession

**A/N: Well, charmedchick34, I have another helping of Only Time. Enjoy.**

It was a surprise to find Grams waiting for them when the sisters, Lily, James, Sirius, and Remus entered the room where they took their Wednesday lessons. She greeted them with a nod.

"Patty and Leo have asked me to give you some tips about fighting evil," she said. "Of course, I can't give you the full picture in one session, but I will do my best. But before I begin…" Grams turned to Phoebe, frowning. "Phoebe, your potions have not been improving."

Phoebe paled. "But I've been working on them, I swear. And that last potion—Grams, anyone could have made that mistake! Valerian, vervain, there's hardly any difference." She smiled, weakly.

Paige noticed Lily's eyebrows shoot up, and was just barely able to keep her own down.

Grams closed her eyes for a moment. "There is a great difference, Phoebe. One will result in a melted cauldron, the other will not."

"Grams, please." Phoebe took hold of her grandmother's hands. "I'll work harder, I really, really will. Just don't take Quidditch away from me. Please."

"I'm not going to. You will be getting a tutor."

Phoebe dropped Grams's hands, a familiar look on her face. "Tutor? You expect me to find time for school, lessons, Quidditch, and tutoring?"

"You'll meet with him on Saturdays," Grams said, moving to the podium at the front of the room. "His name is Severus Snape."

This announcement left several people in the room sputtering.

"Saturday? Grams, I have a life, you know," said Phoebe, as Sirius and James yelped, "Snape?"

"Professor Halliwell," said James, "you're making a huge mistake. Snape is—well, he's into dark magic, you see."

Grams regarded him with an air of dismissal and said, "Then perhaps Phoebe will be a good influence."

Prue made a sound like a contained explosion. Piper raised her hand to hide a smile. Sirius muttered something that made James laugh; Lily hit him. Even Remus looked dubious. Phoebe was herself too shocked to even glare at the others in the room.

"Excuse me, could you repeat that?" she requested, knocking her hand against her ear as if to dislodge something. "I think I had something crazy in my ear."

"I'm very proud of the progress you've made, Phoebe. I'm proud of all of you," Grams said, nodding at the sisters. "You girls were thrown into this world, but you're doing well."

The sisters goggled.

Grams turned to the board. "Though I would prefer if Prue had better taste in men."

Paige expected Prue to get upset, but she only forced a smile. "Thank God, we were starting to get worried about you, Grams."

"I'm only saying that—"

"Can we get started?" Prue interrupted.

With a glance at her, Grams said, "Fine. We'll start with potions. Now, there are certain materials that every Wiccan witch or wizard must have on hand at all times." She rattled off the list. The names were all familiar to Paige; she didn't write them down. "You've already heard all about them in class, and any decent potions book lists them. Some witches like to have certain potions on hand, but I think it's a wasteful practice. Potions lose potency over time, and you end up throwing away materials. It's better to compose some general spells."

She tapped the chalkboard with her wand, and a spell appeared. _Hell's fiend, creature of death / Fire shall take your very breath_. "That's my general vanquishing spell, but you can certainly develop your own." This Paige copied down immediately. "You should have spells for a range of creatures—warlocks, demons, that sort of thing. And you girls should write a Power of Four spell. Something simple, the Power of Four…"

"Forevermore?" Piper offered.

"Not quite, dear. You need something for protection. You can work on it later." A glint in her eyes, Grams looked at Lily and the three boys. "I'd like to know how you four are doing. I'm sure you've all got well-stocked stores." She smiled proudly, as though she were responsible for their good habits.

Lily and Remus nodded. James and Sirius looked at the floor.

Her smile diminished, and she eyed the group. "And you have some good, all purpose spells?"

Now all four seemed uncomfortable. Lily chewed on her fingernail, and James muttered, "A few."

Grams's smile had fled. "Do you have a good communication channel, at least?"

There was a long pause. "Well, there's Patty," Remus said.

"Good Lord, do you mean to tell me that you don't have immediate contact with each other? Lily, you're not even connected to the floo network; how have you managed all these years?"

Lily opened her mouth to speak, but Grams was in her own world and was now clinging to the podium as if it was the only thing keeping her up.

"I just don't know what Patty's been teaching you."

"We've learned a lot from Patty," said Lily, and Paige was happy that someone was standing up for her mother.

"I'm sure, dear, but I think Patty's been thinking too much like a whitelighter and not enough like a witch." After a few moments of shaking her head and sighing, Grams let go of the podium and marched over to the group. There was fresh determination in her manner. "Let's talk about powers. Conjurer. You've done weapons work—correct? You can throw an athame well, use a sword?"

James was having trouble holding Grams's gaze. "Athame, yes. We haven't gotten to swords, really."

"I'll tell Patty to get you on that right away." With that, she moved on to Lily. "And you're remote viewing. Very good for finding demons. Can you access them down in the underworld?"

Lily was hesitant. "Some. I'm working on it."

"Good." Grams almost moved on, but stopped. "This is very advanced—I certainly don't expect that you can do it yet—but you should eventually be able to take control of demons. You haven't…? Well, I didn't think so. Someday." She paused before Sirius. "Telepath. Well, you're a good lie detector." And she moved on to Remus.

Sirius wasn't letting her go that easily. "I'm more than that," he said and gave her a withering look that Phoebe—past Phoebe, Paige should say—would envy.

Grams smiled indulgently. "You can take down evil blocks?"

"Of course," he said, so bold that Paige didn't trust his statement.

It was clear that Grams didn't trust it either. "And plant thoughts?"

"Well… no. But I can work on it."

"That would be an excellent idea." She turned back to Remus. "Now you are very interesting. The things you can do with your power… Don't look surprised, dear. I'm sure that the Elders have told you time and time again that your power must be limited, but don't believe them."

With a jolt, Paige realized that she didn't know Remus's power. She whispered the question to Piper, who shrugged.

Grams had forgotten everyone else in the room. "You don't often get to use it, I know, and I suppose that's for the best. But there are other dimensions to it, and I think it would be in everyone's interest if you explored those dimensions. I would be happy to work with you and Patty, if you'd like."

His confusion showed on his face, but he nodded. "Okay."

Paige wished Grams would leave him alone, because he seemed a little peaky. It was a relief when Grams moved away from him.

"We have a lot to get through," she said, with a pointed look at the group she had just examined, "so we'd better move on."

* * *

"Why don' yeh get closer, Paige?"

Paige couldn't take her eyes off the beautiful creature before her. "Are you sure?"

"Go on," Hagrid said, giving Paige a little push.

The unicorn started, then calmed. Paige put her hand forward, and her fingertips brushed the animal's snout. She was able to stroke it a few times before it turned its attention back to its fellows.

"Fifth years're workin' with 'em," Hagrid went on. "Though' yeh'd like ter see 'em."

"Yes. Thank you so much. They're wonderful." She gave him a radiant smile.

He grinned back at her. "Now I bet yer gonna grow up ter be an explorer, great as the Harmons!"

"The Harmons?" Paige repeated, pulling her cloak tighter to her body. The air seemed suddenly chillier.

"Yeh don' know abou' the Harmons? Come on." He steered her toward his cabin. "Have some tea, an' I'll tell yeh all abou' 'em."

Though Paige was not looking forward to Hagrid's tea, she was very interested in the Harmons. The name was familiar; she felt as though she had heard it before, perhaps during one of her lessons.

"Petra an' Riley. Best magizoo—magi—well, best people ter ever work with magical creatures. Petra Harmon, she jus' abou' grew up in Africa. I can' believe yeh don' know her, Paige."

"Why should I know her?"

Hagrid chose that moment to take a long draught of tea. Paige waited impatiently for him to finish. "Well, yer related to her. 'Fore she met Riley Harmon, she was Petra Warren. Riley…" Hagrid chuckled. "There's this great story, abou' how they met. See, she was in Kenya, workin' with the locals ter learn more abou' the nundu. The Ministry wanted ter use her information, so they sent one o' their men ter talk to her. Riley Harmon showed up in—"

"A suit!" The words burst from her mouth, along with a laugh. "And he apparated right into the mud!" The power that had moved her mouth was gone as suddenly as it had come, and Paige was left blinking in confusion.

Hagrid stared at her. "Tha's righ'. Yeh know abou' tha'?"

"I… must have heard about them in class. I guess I forgot." Paige's hands were shaking, and her heart was pounding. "But I don't remember anything else about them. I'd like to hear more."

"O' course. Now, they say their deaths were accidental, but I don' believe tha' fer a minute…"

When Paige left Hagrid's cabin, her body was buzzing with energy. She couldn't concentrate on anything; she could hardly keep still. She ended up in the Gryffindor common room, where she played a game of chess with one of her friends and was soundly defeated. She asked her friends if they knew about the Harmons. Only Rebecca did, and everything she knew Paige had already heard from Hagrid.

She didn't think that she'd be able to fall asleep, but when she made it back to her room, she did manage to get to sleep. Her sleep was light, though, and was soon interrupted.

"Paige! Paige, you've got to get up."

"Mmm?" Paige rolled over to see Prue standing above her, wand alight. "What is it, Prue?"

"Come on." Prue grabbed her hand and yanked her out of bed.

"Prue! What—?"

"Quiet!" Prue whispered, clapping her hand over Paige's mouth. "You have to trust me." Moving her hand to Paige's wrist, she pulled Paige over to the portrait hole and led her down the hallway.

Paige kept her mouth shut. Though Prue's behavior was frightening her, she trusted her, and she knew that all would be explained soon.

They ended up outside, where the full moon shed feeble light on the grounds. Paige could hear a creaking in the distance. She knew that sound, but she was having trouble remembering its source. Prue hurried toward the sound. She was smiling—no, not smiling. It was too maniacal to be a smile.

"Prue…?" Paige said, breaking her silence.

Prue stopped and looked at her. "Finally," she said, softly. And then she shoved Paige forward.

Paige stumbled but did not fall. Quickly, she looked at Prue, who was still smiling. Without a word, Prue nodded toward something behind Paige.

Paige was turning when the first blow fell, cutting open her cheek and knocking her to the ground. The air left her lungs in one gust, rendering her unable to scream when the second branch came whipping at her. This branch opened a wound in her right shoulder. Paige screamed when she saw the whole tree bending toward her and, shutting her eyes, she turned intangible.

Suddenly, she fell through the ground. She remained curled up on whatever surface she had landed on for a few moments before she brought herself to sit up and open her eyes. Darkness surrounded her, until she got out her wand. "_Lumos_." She got up, shakily, and examined her surroundings.

She was in a tunnel. She could see faint light coming from one end, but she could also hear creaking coming from that end. She would take her chances on whatever lay at the other end of the tunnel.

She walked slowly, holding her wand up in her left hand. The pain in her cheek and shoulder brought tears to her eyes, but she ignored it and moved along. She would be fine, she would be fine, she would be fine.

It seemed to take a very long time to reach the other end of the tunnel. This end, as far as she could tell, did not lead outside. There were sounds coming from it—not human, but animal. A dog, perhaps, and something else she did not recognize. Harmless. Paige pressed on, and emerged in a house. The sounds were clearer now. Definitely a dog, maybe two. She still couldn't identify the other animal, but she thought she heard hooves.

Paige tried to move silently, but the old floorboards gave her away almost immediately. She froze. Her breathing was thunderous, and she still had her wand lit. "Please," she mouthed. "Please."

The animals quieted, and then there was the sound of a dog's whining and an unsure—could that be a deer?—snort.

Something furry darted by Paige's leg. She couldn't help it; she let loose a shriek and swung her wand around. There was a rat on the floor, sitting on its hind legs and squeaking urgently.

A low growl cut through the air. The hair on the back of Paige's neck stood on end, and she started to shake so hard that her wand dropped from her hand. "N-no," she whispered. "I'm dreaming. It's… a bad dream. Bad dream."

The wolf bared its teeth and took a step toward her. Paige backed away. "Just have to… wake up." She was up against the wall now. "Wake up."

The wolf lunged at her. She screamed, but the beast didn't reach her. A stag sideswiped it, pinning it to the wall. Paige screamed again when she felt something tugging at her pajamas.

A dog had latched on to her and was trying to drag her back to the tunnel. Paige didn't need the encouragement; she sprinted over to the tunnel and went down it as fast as she could. Though a Prue who was not Prue would be found at the other end, a fake Prue was better than a wolf that was keen on eating her.

A hand appeared in front of her as she was about to climb out of the tree, and she almost fell backwards. By now, she was too exhausted to even gasp. "Here, take my hand," a slightly familiar voice said.

Paige hesitated; then, an angry howl sounded, and she allowed herself to be pulled out. She ended up collapsed at the feet of her helper.

"Merlin's twitchy left eye! What were you—wait, I should… Er… Missus Halli—Patty! Leo!" Peter looked down at her. "You all right, Paige?"

She nodded, though that was untrue. "The branches! We've got to get away before the Whomping Willow—"

"I've taken care of that," he said. "Though it won't last. We should probably move away, actually."

Paige nodded again. As they were moving out of harm's way, her mother and Leo appeared. "Mum!" Paige launched herself into her mother's arms. "Mum, there's this—beast! It's down that tunnel, and I…" Sobs wrested her voice from her, and she clung to her mother.

"Oh my God." Patty tipped Paige's head up. Her eyes were wide with panic. "Oh God, did he bite you?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Thank God," Patty whispered and held Paige close. After a moment, she shifted her hands and healed Paige's wounds. "We should take you to Poppy, though, just in case. And then we'll sort out what's happened."

There was a sharp cry of pain, and they both looked to Leo. He was clutching his chest; his face was twisted.

"What is it?" Patty stood; Paige held on to her arm.

"Prue and Piper," Leo gasped. "They're hurt."

The change of surroundings was almost instantaneous. One moment Paige was out on the grounds; the next, she was back in her room. And then, just as unexpectedly, time slowed, and Paige struggled to take in what she was seeing.

Piper was on her bed, lying on her stomach. There was a gaping wound in her back. Prue was crumpled on the floor. An athame was sticking out of her chest, and blood was pooled around her. Phoebe was in the corner, crying hysterically.

When she saw Paige, Phoebe ran over to her. "Paige—Paige—" She wrapped her arms around her, and the two sisters held each other.

Patty held her hands over Piper; Leo extracted the athame from Prue's chest and healed her. Moments later, they both sat up, gasping.

"What happened?"

Later, Paige wouldn't be able to recall who asked the question, but it didn't matter. They'd all asked it, and the answer would have to be pieced together.


	20. Truth

**A/N: Back so soon? Why yes, I am. Once I started writing this, I just couldn't stop. **

**Charmedchick34: Thanks for reviewing.**

**Poseidon's Chickadee: I thought you'd given up on me. All your questions will be answered in this chapter and the next. Thank you for sticking with this thing.**

**XxBrucas4EverxX: Thank you. You probably haven't reached this point yet, but I hope you will eventually.**

The sisters all ended up sleeping in the hospital wing. "Best to keep everyone together," Patty said, and Leo agreed. But before they thought of rest, Patty had Madam Pomfrey run some tests on Paige.

"Just a little prick," Madam Pomfrey soothed Paige as she drew blood.

"What happened? Why does she need Paige's blood?" Piper asked. They were all still shaky, and the lack of cohesive information wasn't helping.

Patty was sitting next to Paige on the bed, holding her hand. "Paige had an… encounter in a passageway that leads from the Whomping Willow to the Shrieking Shack," she said. She was not making eye contact. "From her description, I'd say she faced a werewolf."

Prue sat up very straight. "A werewolf?"

"Yes," Patty said. "I am sure that the werewolf, whoever he was, is long gone by now. They don't like to stay cooped up, and since he wouldn't get past the Whomping Willow, he's not a threat to us."

"But no one can get into the Shrieking Shack," Piper spoke up. "When I was in Hogsmeade, I heard—"

"People exaggerate," said Prue. Her lips were drawn into a thin line. She looked troubled, but of course she had reason.

"Girls," Patty began, her eyes moving over her daughters, "I think it would be best if you didn't tell anyone about the werewolf. They aren't well tolerated in the wizarding world, and it might cause a panic."

Madam Pomfrey returned before anything else could be said and announced that Paige was perfectly healthy. Patty squeezed Paige's hand in relief, and then the group began to put together the pieces.

Prue contributed her piece first, for it all began with her. She'd spent the evening in the Slytherin common room, and had been returning to their room when it had happened. "It was after curfew," she admitted. As she'd snuck back, she'd started to sense someone following her. Fearing that a professor was about to catch her, she'd hidden herself in a niche. "That was a mistake. I couldn't get away when the _væe victis_ started." Trapped, she'd been taken over by what had been following her, and the force—they all agreed that it had to be Anton—had led her back to their room, where Paige, Phoebe, and Piper had been asleep.

Now Paige took over. It wasn't easy to tell the story, but she managed it. Prue winced when she went through Anton's actions, and Patty went still at the mention of the dog, stag, and rat. Yet she only shook her head when Paige asked if there was something important about them.

Phoebe picked up after Paige told of her escape from the tunnel. She had woken up when Prue had entered the room—for the second time, Phoebe now knew. Prue had been rummaging through their ritual supplies, and when Phoebe had asked what she was looking for, she'd held up the athame. Without a word, she'd then crossed over to Piper's bed and thrust the athame into her back. Then, she'd stuck the blade in her own chest. "There was no mist, no voice," Phoebe said, hugging herself. "He didn't even try to hurt me. He was smiling when he…" She stopped and took a deep breath. "I don't get it."

None of them did. Why had Anton singled Paige out to face a werewolf? Why hadn't he attempted to kill off the Power of Four? They were finding more questions than they were answers, and they were all so exhausted that they couldn't think anymore. It was time, Patty declared, for the girls to get some rest.

Madam Pomfrey gave each girl a sleeping potion. Prue drank hers down quickly. "Can't possess a sleeping person, I hope," she muttered as she handed the vial back. Piper and Phoebe also drank all they were given, but Paige only took half. She was wary of too deep a slumber. As she was drifting off, she recalled that she hadn't described the beast to her mother. But that didn't seem very important.

Rest, when it came, was not calm; she hadn't expected it to be. Paige dreamed of fire and fear, but there was a voice in her dreams that comforted her. Fuzzily, she realized that this voice wasn't just in her dreams; she was hearing that voice. She opened her eyes but snapped them shut quickly when she saw who was standing not far from her bed.

"Is she all right?" The voice that had been soothing her seconds before was stressed. It pained her to hear Remus so upset. Determined to find the cause, Paige kept her eyes closed and her breathing even.

"Yes," Patty responded. "She's fine."

"I didn't…?"

"No." Patty took in a sharp, hissing breath. "Are these all self-inflicted? Nothing I can heal?"

Paige heard no response. Remus must have shaken his head, though, because her mother sighed and softly called Madam Pomfrey over.

"Here," Remus said. "Her wand."

The blood was pounding in Paige's ears. _I didn't…? Her wand… Self-inflicted…_No, it couldn't be. That was impossible. Sweet, kind Remus?

"Remus," Patty murmured in a broken voice. "Oh, Remus, I'm sorry."

Remus's laugh was harsh. "_You're_ sorry? I—"

Hurriedly, Patty launched into the tale. When she finished, Remus said nothing. "We don't know why Anton did it like this," Patty added, "but I promise that there will be no repercussions for you."

What he said next made Paige wish she hadn't woken up for this. In a flat voice, he said, "There already have been."

* * *

Phoebe awoke around noon on Saturday to see Grams standing over her. "Phoebe, dear, how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," said Phoebe, sitting up.

"Good," Grams said briskly. "Your session will be at two in the Potions room. You'll be ready by then, won't you?"

"Wait. What? What session?"

"Your tutoring session, of course."

For a moment, Phoebe was speechless. But that passed. "Grams, we were attacked last night. My sisters almost died."

"All the more reason to improve your basic skills," Grams replied. "You have a natural talent for Defense Against the Dark Arts, but without ability in Potions, you can't fight evil. And I let you sleep in. Your sisters have been up for a while."

Reflexively, Phoebe looked around and saw that her sisters and mother were indeed gone. Leo was seated at the foot of her bed. He gave her a sympathetic smile before he stood and said, "She's right. You don't know what you'll need to defeat Anton."

Phoebe was grudging, but not as uncooperative as she once might have been. She had watched a warlock stab her sisters; it didn't make sense, now, to resist just for the thrill of being defiant. At least Grams let her have some food before she led her to the Potions room to meet Severus Snape.

Grams would be working on papers during the tutoring session. Until they vanquished Anton, they would be taking no chances; no Wiccan witch or wizard in the castle was going unguarded.

Maybe it was because Grams was present, or because of last night, but Phoebe walked into the classroom with the desire to be pleasant to her tutor. The fact that he exuded antipathy didn't deter her. "Hi," she said, extending her hand. "I'm—"

"I know who you are," Severus said. He glanced at her hand, then raised his eyes to meet hers.

"Of course you do." Phoebe looked at Grams, who turned her hands up and mouthed, "Do your best," as she sat down to her papers.

"What are you struggling with?" Severus asked, though what he really asked was, "What could you _possibly_ be struggling with?"

Phoebe placed her hands flat on the table. "Well," she started, forcing her voice to remain even, "everything."

"What potion are you on in class?"

"We'll be starting mind-clearing potions next," Grams said.

The superior expression on Severus's face almost pushed Phoebe over the edge. Instead of curling her hands into fists, however, she readied her quill and parchment for note-taking. Yet she was not ready for the slew of facts that came pouring out of Severus's mouth. "Whoa. You're going to have to slow down."

She was rewarded with a sneer and a very patronizing explanation of what he'd just said. "Do you understand?"

Through gritted teeth, she responded, "Yeah. Thanks."

"Make it," he ordered.

Phoebe put down her quill, discovering as she did that she had broken it in half. _Think of Quidditch, _she told herself, but perhaps that wasn't the best course of action, because the first ingredient she added was wrong. Severus, however, didn't feel the need to tell her this. Only when she was on the fifth step and dealing with a bright pink potion (it was supposed to be acid green), did he inform her of her mistake and vanish the ruined potion.

By the end of the lesson, Phoebe was sweating and her eyes were stinging from the potion fumes. But she had done it; Grams congratulated her and told her that the potion she had made would have earned a passing grade. She then dismissed Severus, who turned on his heel and left immediately.

"Grams, I'm going to kill him!" Phoebe said when the door was shut.

Grams's eyebrows went up only slightly. "To be perfectly honest, I wouldn't blame you. But I need you to keep taking lessons with him."

"Why? He's—argh!" Phoebe threw her hands up in frustration.

"This is part of his detention," Grams said. "He stole from my stores, and the ingredients he took lead me to believe that he's been making some very harmful potions."

"That's fascinating, Grams, but why are you foisting him on me?"

Grams gazed intently at her. "A war is brewing, Phoebe. Soon, everyone is going to have to choose a side. Severus would be an asset to the light side."

"I can't believe it." Phoebe turned her back on Grams and crossed her arms. "You're using me to recruit for the light side."

"I'm not using you. It's just that..." Grams rounded the table and placed her hand on Phoebe's arm. It had been a long time since Grams had touched her like that, so gently. "I wasn't lying when I spoke to you on Wednesday. You're becoming a strong witch, and I really am impressed. You've come a long way, and I think you can help Severus. And even if you can't, at least you'll improve at Potions. Severus is, after all, my best student."

Phoebe hadn't expected that Grams's speech would affect her as much as it did. Still, she summoned enough irritation to say, "How can I learn anything from that twit?"

"You made the potion, didn't you?"

Phoebe looked up to see Grams's proud grin. "Yeah," she said. "I did." There was a pause, in which Phoebe decided that she was not going to give up. If what she'd heard about the Hufflepuff work ethic was true and applied to her, she'd survive this. Now, however, she was itching to find Rhiannon and unload the stories she had accrued.

It wasn't that difficult to find Rhiannon. Or James and Lily, for that matter. Or most of the school, for there was a crowd of people surrounding James and Lily outside the Great Hall.

"Oh Lord, what now?" Grams muttered and waded through the sea of bodies. "What is going on here?"

Phoebe squeezed into the mass and was seized by her best friend. "Pheebs, you are not going to believe this," Rhiannon said with a wink.

"What?"

"Come on, Evans," Phoebe heard James say. "This is your spell. You shouldn't be fighting it."

"Two years!" Lily snapped. "Are you happy? I've fancied you for the last two years."

"Lily cast a truth spell on James," Rhiannon explained. "Only it works on the caster as well as the target. They've been going on and on for a while now."

Even standing on her tiptoes, Phoebe couldn't see anything. Luckily, James and Lily were very expressive.

"Yes, I am happy." From the tone of his voice, it sounded as though he hadn't wanted to admit that. "But two years? Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I knew that you'd be a pillock about it. You're egotistical, irritating, and—"

"But there's a reason why you fancy me," James said, as smooth as always. "What do you fancy about me?"

"You're handsome, all right?" Lily stomped her foot. "I would have to be blind not to notice you. But I would have to be deaf or of extremely bad taste to want to go out with you."

"What—"

"No. This is my spell, and I have some questions I want to ask you, Potter. Why, after years of putting bugs in my hair and stealing my bras and hexing me, why did you start with those stupid love notes?"

Again, James sounded reluctant. "It was Sirius's idea, actually. He knew you'd flip over them. We thought it'd be funny."

"So why'd you keep doing it?"

"Because…" Now, he was fighting the spell.

"Come on, Potter."

"Because your hair looks cute in pigtails! And…"

"And?"

"Because of the way you scrunch your nose whenever you smile, really smile. Because you're always writing bad poetry and then trying to pass it off as practice for incantations. I don't know, Lily. Because I fancy you."

There was a long, uncomfortable silence. "What are you all staring at?" Lily said. "Don't you have better things to do?"

The spell was still working, so everyone answered her. In the cacophony, Rhiannon cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, "Kiss him!" The noise died down.

"I know that was you, Rhiannon," Lily called back.

"Do you want to kiss me, Lily?" There was genuine hope in James's voice. Phoebe was a little envious; no one had ever spoken to her like that.

"Not now," Lily said, sounding breathless. "Not now, but when you prove to me that you're not a berk through and through."

And then, Lily pushed through the circle of people and began to walk away.

"Evans, wait! I mean, Lily! I can prove that! Hey!"

The drama now over, people began to disperse.

Rhiannon turned to Phoebe. "I heard that something big happened last night. Care to fill me in? A seer can't see all, you know."

* * *

Their chaperone for the rest of the day was Luke. Phoebe didn't mind; he was cute, and he turned out to be very helpful with their History essays. "I love history," he explained. "I wanted to become a history teacher, back when I was alive."

Both Rhiannon and Phoebe agreed that he'd be much better than Binns. Luke flushed at that, and they teased him mercilessly for it.

Phoebe was nearing the end of her essay when Luke looked up. "I'm being called." He looked back at the girls. "I can't leave you alone, so I'll have to take you to Leo."

The words were just leaving his mouth when Leo orbed in with Lily and Piper in tow.

"Wow, Luke," Rhiannon said. "That was impressive."

Leo's grave expression worried Phoebe. "What is it?" she asked, standing.

"You need to come to Dumbledore's office," Leo said. Off her look, he added, "Nothing's happened; we just feel it's time we told you certain things."

Phoebe nodded and joined her sister and Lily. "Ray?"

Rhiannon didn't move. "This doesn't concern me. I'll just stay here. Luke, you can leave me alone for a little while."

"No," Leo and Luke said simultaneously.

Rhiannon fidgeted. "I can take care of myself," she muttered, tugging at the ends of her sleeves. Phoebe recognized that tic. Ray was embarrassed.

"We'll find a teacher. You go on," Luke said.

A swirl of lights, and then they were in Dumbledore's office. The rest of Phoebe's family was gathered there, along with Remus, James, Sirius, and the Headmaster.

"I still think it's unwise, Albus," said Grams in her most disapproving tone. It was one with which Phoebe was quite familiar.

"But even you have admitted that we have no other options," Dumbledore responded. "Patty, let him in, please."

Patty opened the door to the office, and in stepped Severus Snape.

A flinch of disgust went through her, and she opened her mouth to demand what he was doing here. But before she could ask, the gray mist appeared, and voices, so many voices, all began to sound at once.

"I have warned her about the painting." Was that Piper?

"I knew you were hiding something." Phoebe was certain that was Severus's voice.

"Goddard Garner is dead." Prue, definitely.

"I can help him." Her own voice.

"_Black_?" That had to be Paige.

"She'll waste away in an office." Remus, perhaps?

Slowly, the mist began to fade away. The voices echoed. Then, there was a stunned silence.

"Those… those were our voices," Piper said.

Dumbledore had his eyes closed and one finger raised. "Ah, a Black was mentioned, but I don't believe he was heard. Sirius, did you hear your own voice?" Dumbledore asked, opening his eyes.

"No, sir."

"Lily? James?"

Lily and James shook their heads.

Dumbledore bent over a parchment and took down notes. "Goddard Garner was named. Severus, did you hear your own voice?

"I did, sir." Severus was eyeing the sisters distrustfully, as if they were the cause of this.

"Named and present. Phaedra Russell," Dumbledore muttered. "Portia Bowen, of course. I don't recognize the other voices, however."

A small sound, like a whimper, attracted Phoebe's attention. She blinked, wondering if she was really seeing what she was seeing. "Grams?"

Grams was trembling, and tears were welling up in her eyes. "One of those voices," she whispered, "belonged to my mother. Penelope Ada Warren. The other two…" She stopped and pressed her hand to her heart. "Petra and Riley. It's been so long since I heard them, but that was them."

"What's going on?" Prue asked, speaking for a number of people in the room.

Dumbledore took down more notes, and then turned his attention back on the group of students. "When you six heard your own voices, the rest of us heard the voices of the dead. Those I have named died long ago, but they have been reborn. Your past lives are intruding on your current lives, and something must be done."

Patty nodded decisively and stepped forward. "Very well. This should be enough proof for the Elders. Remus, I know you need some time, but as soon as you're ready, I need you to take me back."

"Back?" Phoebe looked from her mother to Remus. "Back where?"

"To the past," Patty answered.

**A/N: the next chapter is another one I've been waiting for forever. It reveals everything… and it'll be up soon. :D**


	21. The Sleeping Dragon

**A/N: Yesss. Finally, I get to share this chapter. And it's a long one, too. Enjoy, charmedchick34.**

"Fools."

For a moment, Prue thought that the voices had started again, because she couldn't find the source of the voice that had just spoken.

Dumbledore turned around. "Portia. Why do you speak now, when you've never spoken before?"

"Fools!" the voice pronounced. "There are no answers in the past. There is only death."

Prue went cold. The voice's message was disturbing, but what chilled her was the realization that she knew that voice.

Dumbledore stepped aside, and she faced herself. A moan issued from her mouth. She felt faint, and had to cling to the wall to remain standing.

"This is why we forget." Grams helped her over to a chair. "It's too much."

Dumbledore did not acknowledge her. He was still concentrating on Portia's portrait. "If you would only tell us what happened…"

Portia laughed. "_Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus_, Albus."

"The dragon has awoken. _Væe victis_, Portia."

Portia's demeanor darkened. "Yes," she murmured. "Woe to the conquered."

"It's your spell, isn't it?"

Portia drew back. "You have heard it?"

"Yes."

"I don't get it," Phoebe said, creeping toward the portrait. "It looks just like her. Why?"

"It doesn't, actually," Leo said. "It only looks like her because you recognize the impression of her soul."

It was then that Portia noticed Phoebe. Her eyes went wide, and she rose from her seat. "Phaedra." Desperation was clear in her voice, along with fear.

Dumbledore motioned for Phoebe to move back. "Portia, what's wrong?"

"I know nothing of the past! I sealed it, it's finished! You are mistaken, Albus." She whipped her head from side to side, then darted into the nearest portrait, jostling its occupant. From there, she ran through the rest of the portraits in the line and disappeared.

"Um… that was odd," Lily said. "Should we try to find her?"

"No." Tiredly, Dumbledore settled behind his desk. "We should explain. Portia Bowen, as you may know, was once Headmistress of Hogwarts. She was also my teacher and close friend. Her soul has been reborn in you, Prue." He considered her.

Unable to hold his gaze, Prue looked down. "Why did she run away? What happened between her and Phaedra? Who is Phaedra?"

"Phaedra was my mother's cousin," Grams said. "She was a teacher at Hogwarts. I never met her; she died before I was born." After a beat, she added, "She was also head of Hufflepuff."

Prue was thrown by that last detail; she didn't understand why it was important enough to mention. "How did she die?"

"She was killed by one of Carriag's followers."

Prue jumped up, heart pounding. "Carriag?" She looked to Phoebe, whose mouth was open. "Did Phaedra write the spell to bind him?"

Grams tilted her head to the side. "Yes. How did you know?"

"We saw the spell in the Book of Shadows," said Phoebe. "Professor"—she switched her gaze to Dumbledore—"was I Phaedra?"

"Yes," he said. "I've known who you and Prue were from the moment I saw you. It took me longer to realize, though, that it wasn't just Portia and Phaedra who had returned. I never met Penelope or her sister Petra; I knew them by reputation only. Piper, Paige," he said and looked to them, "you are Petra and Penelope, though I don't know which is which. Severus, you are Goddard. I never met him; I only suspected you would be involved because you are his blood relative. Remus, you must be Riley. I thought that Lily, James, and Sirius were involved as well, but I was wrong about that."

"Oh. Okay. That's just…" Piper brought her knuckles up to her mouth. "Yeah, a little much."

Paige was dazzled. "I could be Petra Harmon reborn? That's so cool!"

"Goddard Garner?" Remus frowned. "I know that name, but I don't remember who he was."

"The only muggle to break into Hogwarts," Severus said, sounding bored.

James and Sirius were stricken. If Prue hadn't been so overwhelmed, she would have been amused. As mischief-makers, they had to admire Goddard Garner's actions, but their hostility toward Severus was common knowledge. Stuck between admiration and disgust, they struggled to find a response.

Curiosity won out. "How'd he do it?" James asked.

"He had proper motivation," Lily said, and looked at Phoebe. "He was in love."

Phoebe's eyebrows went up. "With Phaedra? All right, but what does any of this have to do with Anton?"

"That is what Remus and I have to discover," said Patty.

Dumbledore cleared his throat. All eyes returned to him. "I have a theory, and it has to with Hogwarts and its houses."

"A preposterous theory," grumbled Grams.

"Mother, it's gaining credibility by the minute," Patty said. "Go on, Albus."

"Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Slytherin, and Ravenclaw," Dumbledore began. "It struck me, the day you four arrived, that Hogwarts has its own Power of Four. You may know that the founders were Wiccan wizards and witches. I sometimes wonder if they were the inspiration behind Melinda Warren's dying promise." He paused. "Portia was a Slytherin; Phaedra, a Hufflepuff; Penelope, a Ravenclaw; and Petra, a Gryffindor. If Piper is Penelope and Paige is Petra, then you four have returned to your houses.

"I know that doesn't seem significant, but I think it set the conditions in place for a present that reached back to the past. Something happened during Portia's lifetime, something involving her cousins and, I believe, Anton."

"There is no connection between Anton and Phaedra," argued Grams. "All you have is that he was vanquished the same year that she died."

"Why carry out a complicated attempt on Paige's life, stab Prue and Piper, and then spare Phoebe's life?" Dumbledore steepled his fingers and waited for Grams to respond. When she did not, he said, "He knew Phaedra."

Grams waved her hand. "Well, we'll find out soon enough."

"About that," Leo spoke up. "I think a Charmed One should go back with Remus. Prue or Phoebe, since they seem to be most involved."

Patty shook her head. "Leo, that's ridiculous. They're not ready for that sort of thing."

"How do you know?"

"They're my daughters."

"And they're my charges." Patty waved him off, but Leo persisted. "I know you want to protect them, but there are certain things that they have to do on their own. I think this is one of them."

"This doesn't concern you, Leo," Grams said.

"Yes, it does," Leo said, his tone and face hardening. "As I just said, they're my charges. And this past was my past too."

Another stunned silence. Were they up to two or three? Prue couldn't remember.

"Whitelighters are shown their past lives," he continued. "I was Charles D'Aramitz, Penelope's husband."

"No," Patty said. "My grandfather's name was John Baxter."

"First husband," Grams muttered.

Suspicion sharpened Patty's gaze. "Mother?"

Caught, Grams sighed. "Charles D'Aramitz was my mother's first husband. I never told you because she barely spoke of him herself. She loved him very much, but it hurt her to talk about his loss."

"The Warrens keep a lot secret," Leo said.

Mentally, Prue winced. That was the wrong thing to say.

As expected, Grams rounded on him. "We have reason. You may have had the privilege of being the husband of a Warren woman, but that doesn't mean you can say what you want about us. Men are disposable; that's been—"

"Grams," Piper warned, as Patty said, "Mother."

Grams huffed. "Fine. Since we can't do anything more today, I suggest that we disperse. Albus?"

"Very well, Penny."

* * *

It took four days. Four days of agony. Four days of looking up everything she could about Phaedra Russell and trying to absorb all that had happened. Fours days, and then Remus was ready to go back. The Elders had decided that a Charmed One should return to the past. They didn't want any whitelighters to be inaccessible, and they, like Leo, felt it was time that the Charmed Ones gained some magical independence. Grams and Patty fumed, but there was nothing they could do about it.

They insisted that Prue be the one to go back. Phoebe flatly refused to let that happen. "This is all about Phaedra," she protested.

"We don't know that," Patty said, placing another candle on the floor. Those who had been present in Dumbledore's office on Saturday had gathered in the classroom where the Wednesday lessons took place. Severus wasn't happy to be there; Phoebe, James, and Sirius were not happy to have him there.

Grams flipped through the Book of Shadows. "They're going to the day Phaedra died. You don't need to witness that. Aha." She tapped the page triumphantly. "Damn spell always disappears on me. I swear Petra wrote it that way." She smiled reminiscently at Paige, who shifted from one foot to the other. "You know, Petra and Riley were my favorite relatives."

Before Grams could delve into a story about them, Patty spoke. "We can talk about them after Prue and Remus have returned." She turned to the two she had just named. "Step into the circle."

Remus obeyed, but Prue hesitated.

"Prue?"

"I must be going crazy," Prue said, more to herself than anyone else. After a moment of silent deliberation, she walked over to Phoebe and placed her hand on her shoulder. "I think Phoebe should go."

"Don't be ridiculous," said Grams. "Phoebe isn't ready for this."

"She's just as ready as I am," Prue replied. "And you don't know what happened to Portia in this time."

"Portia lived to be a hundred thirty-two years old," Patty said.

To Phoebe's relief, Leo jumped to their aid. "Death isn't the only possible trauma."

A lengthy argument followed. By the time Leo got Grams to agree to let Phoebe go back, the candles had gone out and Grams had managed to perform her usual rant about men. Phoebe thanked Leo and Prue, promising that she would be in their debt forever.

As she stepped into the circle, however, anxiety entered her heart. She wanted this; of course she did. She wanted to find out what had happened to Phaedra, but she couldn't forget the moment when she had relived the past. Unconsciously, Phoebe pressed her hand to her stomach. Grams began to speak the spell that would turn Remus and her invisible to all but each other.

Phoebe looked down, then at Remus. "I don't feel any different. Did it work?"

Paige's scared expression told her that it had. She wanted to soothe her sister, but then Remus took her hand and told her to hold on to him. Heart thumping, she did as she was told.

The world ripped apart. Forces battered her body, coming from all directions. There was no floor, no ceiling; there was nothing but those forces and Remus's body. She didn't know how long it lasted. Too long. At some point, though, it stopped. The world reordered itself, and she could breathe again.

"H-holy sh-shit," Phoebe said, shivering violently.

"It'll pass in a minute," Remus assured her. He was still holding her. She felt nothing but cold for a while; then, she became aware of how nice it was to be in Remus's arms.

_If only_, she vaguely thought. But somehow, it wasn't right to think of Remus like that. She moved out of his arms, and he took out a parchment from his robes.

His face lit up, and he grinned. "I can't believe it," he muttered. "Still works."

Phoebe peered at the parchment. It looked like a map, but parts of it were moving. "What is that?"

"The Marauder's Map. It shows Hogwarts and everyone in it." He scanned the map. "Portia's in her office, with Penelope. Petra and Riley are out on the grounds. Phaedra's… there." He pointed at one of the classrooms. "We should start with Phaedra."

"No," Phoebe blurted. "No, it starts with Portia and Penelope. Come on." Phoebe moved down the hall, drawn irresistibly to Portia's office. Only when they had reached the gargoyle did Phoebe realize that she didn't know the password. "Okay, this is a problem. Maybe I could try a premonition?"

"Your powers don't work in the past," Remus said.

"What? Why didn't I get a warning about that?"

"Sorry," he said. "Luckily, my powers do." He reached out to her.

Phoebe stepped back. "I'm not going back yet."

"We're not going back. It's a trick Professor Halliwell pointed out. I can't believe I never thought of it."

There was no reason to distrust him, so Phoebe held on to him again. The experience was the same, but much shorter. They ended up inside the office. Phoebe would have asked what he'd done, but currently, she was at a loss for words.

Piper and Prue were sitting in the office, only they were both adults, and Piper was sporting a large belly. Prue was in her mid forties and had a severe air—even for her. Piper was in her thirties; she seemed as sweet as her future self, though more self-assured.

"You are being ridiculous," Portia chided. "You shouldn't have come here."

Penelope waved her hand, and Phoebe was reminded of Grams. Yes, she definitely was her mother. "I'm worried about Phaedra. I have warned her about the painting, but she won't listen. He's done something to her." Penelope's face was creased with worry.

Portia's expression was controlled, but there was concern in her eyes. "I fear that you're right. She is not the same, now."

"I want to talk to her."

"Absolutely not. If there's even a chance…" Smiling, Portia went to her cousin and placed her hand on Penelope's stomach. "I see great things for this child, Penny. We can't risk her. Or you."

"Warlocks cannot touch me," Penelope said.

Portia's hand went through her, and she drew back. "So I see," she said, wryly. "Nevertheless, I must insist that you return home. Your sister and I will talk to her, and we'll tell you if anything happens."

"You sound just like John," complained Penelope, though she got to her feet. "Good luck, cousin."

"Thank you. Goodbye, Penny."

Penelope went into Portia's private quarters, presumably to use her fireplace. Portia made to leave, and Remus and Phoebe followed her. They kept a few paces behind her, far enough that they could whisper without risking being heard.

"How'd you do that?" Phoebe asked.

"It was a time jump," Remus explained. "A few seconds into the past, so brief it's more like apparition than time travel."

Phoebe only half understood that, but now was not the time to analyze Remus's power. Portia had led them out to the grounds, and Petra and Riley were coming into view. They were telling a story to a group of riveted students. Despite her encounter with past Piper and Prue, Phoebe was still surprised when she saw the past Remus and Paige. Paige was tall and lean; her hair was a flaming mane. She cut an impressive figure. Remus was handsome, and there was an ease to his manner that was missing in the present Remus. Phoebe wondered what had happened to that manner, and if Paige would grow up to be like her past self.

The story ended to clapping. Petra, feigning shock, put her hands against her chest and then bowed humbly. Riley put his arm around her waist, and she leaned into him as the class left with the teacher.

Phoebe could sense Remus's discomfort. Feeling wicked, she tugged on his arm and indicated that they should get closer. He shook his head, but she wasn't taking no for answer.

"There are adventurers among them," Petra was saying.

"As surely as you"—Riley took her hand—"are the most beautiful witch"—and kissed it—"this world has ever known."

Remus's mouth opened, and he blushed.

Petra laughed. "And as surely as you are nothing more than a flatterer."

Riley covered her mouth with his. Their kiss was tender, but passionate.

Phoebe had to bury her face in her hands to stifle her snort of laughter. "My, my, Remus," she whispered. "You have a way with women."

Remus had his eyes firmly on the ground. "This is awfully private. We shouldn't be watching this."

"It's my duty, as her older sister, to keep an eye on Paige. Oi, if Riley's hands are heading where I think they're heading…" Phoebe trailed off threateningly.

"What?" Remus's head snapped up. His past self, however, only had his hands on Petra's hips. Remus glared at Phoebe, who had to stifle her laughter once more.

Portia waited until Petra and Riley were finished before she walked over to them and cleared her throat. "You have many kisses for Petra," she said to Riley, "but can you spare one for her cousin?"

"Portia. For you, anything." He dropped a kiss on one hand, then the other.

"It's good to see you, Riley, Petra." Portia hugged her cousin, and they chatted politely for a few minutes. Phoebe was growing impatient when they finally decided to head back to the castle.

"I'd forgotten they were married," Remus said.

"I didn't think much about it," Phoebe admitted. Mischievous comments tugged at her tongue, but her next statement was serious. "They're really in love."

Remus was too embarrassed to make a reply, and Phoebe let the subject drop. Portia had just opened the door to a classroom; Phoebe knew that her past self was waiting inside.

She wasn't disappointed. Phaedra Russell was standing in the front of the classroom, frowning down at a parchment, which she slid inside her robes when she saw that she had company. Perhaps it was narcissistic of Phoebe to think this, but Phaedra was radiant. It wasn't physical beauty that got Phoebe's attention, though Phaedra was lovely. No, something within Phaedra shone through and drew Phoebe.

But her fashion sense was absolutely atrocious. Canary yellow robes? Ugh.

"Petra? Riley? What are you two doing here?" Phaedra crossed the room to meet them. "Petra, just look at you." She twirled her cousin around and then gave her a kiss on the cheek. "You two never visit." She hugged Riley. Phaedra was very bubbly, almost to an annoying degree. But her free-flowing affection was too genuine to be irritating.

"Well, we're usually tramping about in some wild area," Riley replied.

Phaedra shook her head. "I don't understand the draw of magizoology. But you do good work."

"Glad you appreciate it," Petra said.

"How is your daughter? Is she dreaming of following in her parents' footsteps?"

"Unfortunately not," Riley said. "Right now she's looking forward to a future where she'll waste away in an office." He shrugged. "I can only hope that she'll realize that that is not a good life."

There was another agonizing exchange of pleasantries; then, Phaedra asked what the Harmons were doing in the area. The atmosphere changed instantly.

"We feel it's time for us to become involved," said Petra.

"Involved? Involved in what?" Phaedra's blank look was unconvincing. Apparently, Phoebe had retained Phaedra's inability to lie.

Portia pursed her lips. "You know what."

Phaedra turned away and began to go through the mess of papers on her desk. Her movements were sharp and graceless. "So she's drawn you into this as well," she said, her tone dark. From where she stood, Phoebe could spot something alarming in Phaedra's eyes.

"Phaedra," Petra said, gently, "he's done something to you."

"He would never," Phaedra snapped.

"You've changed," Portia said.

Phaedra threw down the papers in her hands and faced the others. "He said you would do this. He warned me, and he was right."

Loudly, Portia said, "Phaedra, don't be a fool. You know he's abusing magic. And that's at the very least."

The cousins locked eyes. Phaedra was almost snarling; Phoebe couldn't believe the change in her.

"Phae," Petra said. Phaedra didn't look at her.

Phoebe was hopelessly lost, but from Remus's troubled expression, she gathered that he knew what was happening. She ached to ask him, but the others in the room were near enough that they would hear her if she spoke.

Portia pressed her lips together, eyes still on Phaedra. It was as if she was suppressing a statement, trying not to speak some painful truth. "Goddard Garner is dead."

All the ugliness disappeared from Phaedra, and her breathing became audible. "No," she said. She looked confused. "No, I just…" And suddenly, she melted, hitting the ground hard. She was shaking with sobs, and she had her fists pressed to her face.

Petra went over to her, speaking soothingly. Riley helped her up. Portia only watched her, her expression hard.

"A warlock killed him, Phaedra," Portia said.

"Warlock?" Phaedra repeated, tears still rolling down her cheeks. "Why would a warlock—" Comprehension dawned on her face. "No, he wouldn't…"

Phoebe's stomach dropped. Like her past self, she was starting to get a sense of what was happening.

"We need to stop him," Petra said.

Phaedra straightened, wiping her tears away with a shaking hand. "I can help him."

"If he has gone over," Portia began. Phaedra cut her off.

"He hasn't! I'll give him a binding potion."

"And if he refuses to take it?" Riley asked.

At those words, Phaedra closed her eyes. Phoebe could feel the forces warring within her—love, fear, doubt, desperation. "Then I have another option," she said, bringing her fingertips up to her heart. She then opened her eyes and took a hold of Portia's forearm. "Please, Portia. Let me try to help him." Portia shook her head; frantically, Phaedra went on. "If you could do something to be with Evaristus, wouldn't you do it?"

Portia stiffened.

"_Black_?" Petra gasped. "Evaristus Black?"

Phaedra's smile was sad. "My love life is not the only one with flaws."

Coolly, Portia retracted her arm from Phaedra's grip. "My love life is not the subject of discussion."

"But maybe it should be!" Petra said, horrified.

Riley held up his hand. "Petra, later."

Phaedra opened her appeal to all present. "All I ask is one chance."

"Perhaps she deserves one chance." Riley looked to Petra. "For love?"

At first, it seemed that Portia was going to going to say no. Then, she stepped toward Phaedra. "When you do this, I want to be near."

Phaedra nodded.

Petra and Riley wanted to talk more with Phaedra, but she pleaded a headache and left the room. Phoebe and Remus followed her.

Phoebe didn't need a premonition to know what was going to happen next. She almost told Remus that they should go back, that they had learned enough, but she clamped her jaws shut. They had to see this through.

Phaedra turned down the dead-end hallway that Phoebe knew so well. There were hardly any paintings on the walls, though the woman at the loom was present. And at the end of the hall, where a portrait of a sunrise would one day be stationed, there was a portrait that made Phoebe stop in her tracks.

The portrait was of her, or rather, of Phaedra. She was wearing purple robes, her hands folded in her lap. She smiled at her doppelganger and asked for the password.

Phoebe's reaction did not serve them well. They missed the password that Phaedra spoke, and had to hurry just to make it in after her.

They were in Phaedra's quarters. Phoebe noticed the utter lack of organization—not that she was any better—before she noted, with a muffled gasp, the man in the corner.

Phaedra hadn't seen the man. She was looking at the paper she had withdrawn from her robes. It was agony to not be able to warn her past self.

The man crossed the room in three long strides and grabbed Phaedra, pulling her into a kiss.

Phaedra emitted a sound of surprise and dropped the paper. "Anton," she said once they had parted. "What are you doing here?" Though she was smiling, Phoebe could see that she was uneasy.

"I had to see you." He brushed a stray lock of hair off Phaedra's face. "Aren't you happy to see me?"

"Of course," Phaedra replied, too enthusiastic. "I was only surprised. Anton—"

He kissed her again, but she pulled away.

"Stop. We need to talk." In a soft, calm voice, she explained that she feared what magic was doing to him. As she spoke, Anton drew back, fury growing in his expression. "I think you should take this," she said, plucking a potion bottle from her cluttered table. "It's a binding potion."

Anton slapped the potion from Phaedra's hand. She jumped back.

"Anton, I only want to help you."

"If you want to help me," he said and grabbed her arms, "you will join me."

"Let go of me!"

"You knew this day would come, Phaedra," he continued. "You knew that you'd have to make a choice. Me or your family."

Phaedra twisted in his grasp. It was frustrating to witness; she wasn't trying hard enough. "You're hurting me!"

Anton wasn't listening to her any longer. There was no more anger on his face; there was only wildness. "The painting connects us. Phae, you can't fight it."

Phaedra stilled. "What are you talking about?"

"Your portrait," he whispered. "When I painted it, I spoke a spell that would bind us together and set you free of their influence." Anton spun her around so that she was facing the back of the painting. "The object I have made will take you as its slave. In evil we'll unite under love's blessed sight!"

A fierce pain sliced through Phoebe's heart. It was the pain of ultimate betrayal. "You used my spell against me," Phaedra said, her voice hollow.

"For you."

Phaedra threw off his hands and turned to him. "How could you? I trusted you."

Anger returned to Anton. He seized Phaedra and forced her to her knees. "I trusted you! I devoted myself to you, and you—"

Phaedra slumped forward. Panic surged through Phoebe. Phaedra was dead, she was dead—no, wait. She wasn't dead; she must be using her power of astral projection.

"No!" Anton shouted. A dagger appeared in his hand, and he thrust it into Phaedra's stomach. Animation returned to her as she threw back her head in a silent scream. "No," Anton repeated, this time in dumb horror. He withdrew the blade, and a tortured sound moved past Phaedra's lips.

Anton knelt before her. "Phae, Phae, I'm sorry. I couldn't let you tell them. Phae, just say you'll give in, and I'll call your healer."

Phaedra's mouth worked, but Phoebe couldn't hear what she was saying. Shock had given everything an unreal quality; all seemed removed from Phoebe.

Phaedra was trying to get up. Anton, who—this was the most unreal part of all—was starting to cry, tried to help her. She jerked back. Clutching her stomach, she crawled toward the portrait and pushed it open.

"Phaedra, you'll die if you don't give in. Please, Phae."

Phaedra was on her back, pushing herself along with blood-covered hands. They were outside her room, though Phoebe didn't know how she had gotten there. Remus's hand curled around hers, and then she knew.

Phaedra's voice finally entered her ears. "Love that… held me bound…" Her chest was rising and falling, rapidly at first, then more slowly. "Now become… become… unfound…" She let out a cry. It was pain and despair and defeat in one syllable. She took in a breath, let it out. She did not breathe again.

"Phaedra?" Anton touched her face.

"_Don't you touch her_!"

The scream made Phoebe shudder. She looked away from Phaedra to find Portia, Petra, and Riley tearing down the hall. With a flick of her wrist, Petra sent Anton flying into the wall. He recovered and threw a bolt of lightning at her. Petra dodged it. Spells were exchanged so quickly that Phoebe felt dizzy—well, dizzier than before. Petra and Riley were well aware of themselves, but Portia fought with mindless abandon. It was Petra, though, who called out the spell—"_Incendio_!"—that killed Anton.

They rushed over to Phaedra. Riley put two fingers to her pulse point, then shook his head.

Petra sank down beside her cousin, blinking out tears and quietly repeating Phaedra's name. Her hand trembling, she reached out and drew Phaedra's eyelids shut. Portia backed away, eyes moving back and forth rapidly. "We'll call Alana. She can—"

"She can't heal the dead, Portia," Riley said.

Portia looked helpless. "But we can't just… There must be a way!" She got out her wand and went over to Phaedra's body. "She can't go. She can't!"

"Stop." Riley seized her wrist. "A warlock has killed one of your teachers. Do you understand what that means for Hogwarts?" Portia didn't respond. She was still staring at Phaedra. "Portia. The Ministry will shut down the school. Evil struck within its walls; they can't ignore that."

Petra's crying had calmed. She turned her face up to her husband. "That can't happen."

Portia's frozen features slowly thawed. "You're right," she said, controlling the grief in her voice. "We must get her body out. You two will take her to the forest. We'll say that it was Carriag's followers."

Remus wrapped his arms around Phoebe, and she put her head against his chest. It was time to go.


	22. Choices

**A/N: Another installment!**

**Charmedchick34: Awkward indeed! Thank you for so consistently reviewing.**

**Charmingbrenda: Well, she's losing the attitude more and more, and I think the Phoebe in this chapter is mostly the Phoebe we know and love. Sirius and Prue? Hmm… -fights off plot bunnies- I can't do another crossover, for pity's sake! Thank you for reviewing.**

**Allenterrill: I'm glad you're enjoying this.**

Remus told most of the story when they returned; Phoebe was caught up in her own thoughts and emotions. She was disturbed, of course, by Phaedra's death, but she had been expecting that. It was the little details that were bothering her now, the things she had not known about. While in the past, she hadn't thought to pick up the paper that Phaedra had been looking at, and now she was kicking herself for that mistake. The vanquishing spell must be written on that paper; how could she get to it when she didn't know the password? She shouldn't have hesitated. She should have paid better attention.

"She covered it up?" Prue's voice broke through her distracted thoughts, and Phoebe looked at her sister.

"Portia, Riley, and Petra covered it up," Remus corrected her.

"They were thinking of Hogwarts, Prue," Phoebe said. "It doesn't mean anything about you." She then slipped back into her brooding. Perhaps she could try a premonition. But no, that wouldn't work; she couldn't touch the painting, and she doubted that she could pick up on something that had happened so long ago.

The voices around her were nothing but buzzing until Severus, who had been silent and surly the entire time, spoke. "In this painting of Phaedra, what was she wearing?"

"Purple robes," Remus said.

There was a pregnant pause. Phoebe could feel Severus's eyes on her, but she didn't bother to return the gaze. She was too tired for a power struggle. "I've seen that painting, in a recurring dream. Every time, Phaedra says the same thing: Success is counted sweetest…"

Now, Phoebe looked at him. She was surprised by what was missing in his gaze; the superiority was gone, replaced by something Phoebe couldn't identify.

"What does that mean?" Paige asked.

"It's Dickinson," Piper said. "Success is counted sweetest by those who ne'er succeed."

"That's it," Phoebe whispered. Energy spiked through her, and she stood. "That has to be it."

"Has to be what?" Patty inquired.

Phoebe started to pace. "The password. We can get into Phaedra's room and get the vanquishing spell. Let's go."

Patty stopped her before she could reach the door. "Hold on. What vanquishing spell?"

Phoebe explained her theory, and after an interminable discussion, Patty, Leo, and Grams agreed that the sisters should investigate this. Paige, as though fearing that the adults had forgotten that she was one of the sisters, joined them without a word.

Patty noticed, and smiled. "I wouldn't normally let you go, Paige, but we might need the Power of Four."

Leo stayed behind to guard the others. Grams followed them until they reached the bend just before the dead-end; she would make sure that nothing sneaked up on them. Patty checked the area for any danger before she allowed the sisters to approach the portrait. "Don't touch it," she warned.

The other portraits were uneasy. "Dead secrets," they murmured. "Danger."

Phoebe suppressed a shiver. "Let's just get this done."

Prue spoke the line, and the painting opened. "Oh God." She put her hand up to her mouth, eyes wide.

There was a long, rust-colored streak down the back of the painting. At the start of the streak, Phoebe could see the outline of a hand. Phoebe flinched, but she didn't let her repulsion stop her from entering Phaedra's room with her sisters.

The room had been untouched by time. Papers were strewn about, held down by various objects, most of which weren't paperweights by nature. A smile almost rose up on her face when she saw a crystal ball perched precariously on top of a pile of papers. Then she saw the smashed potion bottle, and the smile was canceled.

Piper picked up the parchment that Phaedra had dropped. "Yeah, this is it."

"Good," Phoebe said, moving toward Phaedra's bedside table. It, like every other surface in the room, had papers on it, but under those papers, Phoebe found a stack of old photographs. The first was of Petra and Riley's wedding, and as in all magical photos, the couple was moving.

"Phoebe, come on," Prue said.

"Just a minute." It was odd; if Phoebe looked at the photo from a certain angle, she could only see Paige and Remus, but if she tilted her head, she could see the real Petra and Riley. She flipped to the next photo, which was of Portia. Apparently unaware that she was being photographed, she was looking out a window, a wistful expression on her face.

Suddenly, the portrait closed and the room was plunged into darkness. The girls all gasped, then laughed nervously. With their wands lit, they easily made their way back to the painting. Prue used her power to open it, and they stepped out.

The photos in Phoebe's hand slipped from her grasp. "Anton."

"Phaedra. I knew you would recognize me." Sirius was standing before them. He was holding Remus, whose hands were tied behind his back. The tip of Sirius's wand was pressed to Remus's neck. Behind them, there was a frozen mass of blue orbs. Evidently, Patty hadn't been fast enough to avoid Anton's spell.

"Throw down your wands," Anton commanded. The girls obeyed. The parchment went down with Piper's wand. "And keep your hands at your sides. Any sudden movements, and…" He tapped Remus's throat. "Well, I think you know."

"Let him go!" Paige was practically vibrating with fury, her small hands balled at her sides.

"Paige, don't," Prue said.

Anton smirked. "Ah, Petra. Still dedicated to this one? Don't you know what he is?" He paused, but not long enough for her to respond. "He's a dark being, just like me."

"Not like you," Paige said, with an intensity she had never before displayed.

Phoebe was confused, but Prue understood what was happening. "He didn't have a choice," she said. "You did."

"You could have saved Phaedra," Phoebe jumped in. "You could have called her whitelighter, and you didn't."

"I had no choice!" Anton spat. "They're still poisoning your mind, Phaedra."

"I saw what happened, Anton. You killed her. You killed me." Out of the corner of her eye, Phoebe could see Paige inching toward Anton. Phoebe stepped to the left, hoping that she could draw his awareness away from Paige.

"Stop!"

Phoebe cursed silently. Piper was to her left and at least an arm's length away. If she moved, Anton would definitely turn away from Paige. But there was no telling what he would do if she did.

"And what did they do for you, Phae? They dumped you in the forest, told a lie so that they could save their school," Anton said. "I watched them do it. I've been waiting here for a century. I was trapped, until you came back. Don't you see?" The maniacal expression he'd worn in the past was back on his face. "Our love kept me alive, and then it freed me."

Phoebe shook her head. "It was just your spell. The painting kept you alive."

Piper dove for her wand. Anton fired a spell at her, which she froze. Simultaneously, Paige leapt forward and grabbed Remus. Anton shouted the killing curse, but it passed through Remus and hit the wall.

Prue sent Anton flying, and she and Piper tackled him. Piper wrenched his wand out of his hand; Prue locked his arms behind his back. Phoebe grabbed the parchment and began to chant the spell.

"Love that held me bound, now become unfound. Heart that stirred mine, this spell will find, and strike the life from it, as good does see fit. Anton, I vanquish thee. Never return to me!"

The gray, screaming form of Anton rose up from Sirius's body. Flames engulfed him, and then, he exploded.

Piper pointed her finger. "Now that," she said, "is what I call a vanquish."

Paige let go of Remus. "Look," she said, gesturing toward the painting.

As they watched, the sunrise faded away to reveal Phaedra. She blinked once, then also disappeared, leaving behind a blank canvas.

"It's over," Phoebe said.

------

"Piper, hurry up!" Lily tugged at the end of her friend's scarf. "This is one match that we cannot miss."

Piper quickened her pace. "Lily, I wouldn't miss this match for the world."

"Wouldn't know that, from the way you've been walking," Lily grumbled as they made their way up to the Ravenclaw section of the stands. "Who are you going to be cheering for?"

Piper looked over the pitch, which was dotted with yellow and green. The Hufflepuff Keeper caught her eye. "I was thinking Hufflepuff, actually."

Lily followed her gaze and grinned slyly. "You know, he was staring at you during breakfast."

"You're such a liar!" Piper said, giggling.

"On my honor," Lily pledged, putting her hand over her heart.

Piper sat back. "I think I might ask him out."

Lily gaped at her. "Who are you, and what have you done to Piper?"

"I've been dousing her with Paige's perfume," Piper replied. "That basil really does wonders."

"Basil? That barely makes a dent in your confidence level. It's all you after the first burst."

Piper shrugged. "Well, it still smells good."

Lexa and Mary joined them then, and within minutes, the match had begun. Prue guarded the Slytherin goals with skill, deflecting most of the shots that the Hufflepuff Chasers—Piper was proud that she remembered the name of that position—made. Phoebe got one by her, though, and the sisters shared a good-natured glare.

Slytherin was leading slightly when the Hufflepuff Seeker spotted the Snitch. (Though Piper didn't realize that that was happening, until Lily kindly pointed it out.) One of the Slytherin Chasers, a brutish fellow, hurtled toward him. He just barely got out of the way, and he lost sight of the Snitch.

"Blatching!" Lily and Lexa howled. "That's bloody blatching and everyone bloody knows it!"

Piper's eyebrow went up, and she and Mary exchanged a confused look.

"I guess it's something bad," Mary said.

"Bad?" Lexa sputtered. "Morgana's knickers! One day, Mary, I'm going to get you to understand Quidditch."

Mary rolled her eyes. "Yeah, good luck."

The referee didn't call that, but Regulus circled by the Chaser and said something to him. Prue, Piper could see, watched this very carefully. No other dirty tricks were pulled.

Piper was settling into a lull when Regulus went into a sharp dive.

"I don't see anything. Do you think it's a Wronski Feint?" Lexa said to Lily.

"Could be. No, wait. He might have it."

"Good God!" Piper yelped, clapping her hand over her eyes. "He's going to crash, I just know it!"

"No, he…"

There was an explosion of sound, a mixture of cheering and booing. Piper peeked through her fingers.

Regulus hadn't crashed; he was standing on the field, fist in the air. He'd caught the Snitch.

"And Slytherin wins!"

Even from this distance, Piper could tell that Prue was snogging Regulus.

"Well," said Mary dryly, "that's one way to celebrate."

-------

The next months were peaceful. With Anton gone, the sisters regained their freedom. Piper was eager to make use of her Hogsmeade privileges, but Phoebe refrained. The Elders had learned that Voldemort was after Rhiannon, so she was barred from leaving Hogwarts grounds. Phoebe declared that if Rhiannon had to stay behind, she too would stay. She had become very loyal to her friend.

Piper used her newfound freedom—and confidence—to ask the Hufflepuff Keeper, Dan, out. He was no Leo, but he was sweet and, she soon found out, a good kisser.

With a boyfriend and sense of security, Piper was feeling good about life. It wasn't a normal life, not by any means, but it wasn't a bad life. She was getting used to magic, though she didn't think she'd ever get used to being a Charmed One. Her sisters, too, had become accustomed to the wizarding world. Phoebe had finally found her place, and Paige was still in love with it. Paige had, as of late, become fixated on werewolves and curing lycropanthy. It didn't take Piper long to figure out why. Even Prue was warming to their new existence.

Piper had been worried about her sister after Remus and Phoebe's trip to the past, and initially, she'd had reason. Portia's actions had alarmed Prue, and had caused her to withdraw. Piper had almost approached her, but had decided that this was something Prue had to deal with on her own. And Prue had dealt with it.

Piper knew, though, that Prue had turned to someone else, and she suspected that that someone was Regulus. Phoebe's accusations about Regulus had gone unconfirmed, but Piper didn't trust him. She kept a close eye on him, watching for a sign of bad intentions. However, the only malevolence that was directed toward Prue because of Regulus came via Mrs. Black.

It arrived the last day of May. The owl swooped in during breakfast, the scarlet envelope it clutched standing in noticeable contrast to the creature's dark feathers. Piper knew it to be the Black family's owl, and she would have thought the Blacks used that owl to be ironic, but they were a notoriously humorless bunch. Save for Sirius, of course.

At the Gryffindor table, Sirius braced himself. But the owl swooped over the Slytherin table, dropping the envelope in front of Regulus.

"Howler," Lily murmured.

Piper didn't know what a Howler was, but she found out when the envelope exploded.

"YOU BRING SHAME ON THE BLACK NAME!" a woman's voice screeched. "GALLIVANTING ABOUT WITH THAT HALF-BLOOD WHORE, IT'S JUST WHAT YOUR BROTHER WOULD DO!"

Shock, then anger filled Piper. Prue, who was sitting next to Regulus, had her eyes turned down. Regulus was stone-faced.

"IF YOU—" The voice was cut off suddenly.

"That's quite enough," Grams said, lowering her wand.

Prue scrambled out of her seat and escaped from the hall. Regulus and, after a moment's consideration, Piper went after her.

"I don't understand how she found out," Prue said.

Piper stopped where she was, unwilling to intrude on Prue's privacy but unable to leave her alone with Regulus. She was expecting to hear some feeble excuse from him. She'd spoken to Sirius about him, and knew that Regulus was blindly devoted to his family.

"I wrote to her," Regulus said.

"What? Are you mad?"

"I wanted to get it over with. Quick disinheritance, and all that."

There was a long pause. "You've been disinherited?"

"No." Hesitating, he added, "Probably not. If it comes down to picking me or Sirius… well, I doubt she'll pick Sirius."

"And what if… what if you have to choose between…"

"He'd be daft not to choose her," a voice said from beside Piper.

She jumped. "Bloody hell, Sirius. What are you doing here?"

"Same as you," Sirius said and peeked around the corner. "He's my brother, after all."

"Prue—" Regulus said.

"Never mind," Prue said. "I can't ask that of you." Piper caught the bitter edge to her voice. "I'll see you later."

"Prue, wait!" Regulus called.

"I've really got to go, sorry."

"I think I'm in love with you!"

This statement probably astonished Piper just as much as it did Prue.

"Huh," Sirius said. "Years of being an idiot, and finally he gets some sense. Your sister must be a miracle-worker."

"My family has been filled with evil witches and wizards for centuries, and they're all obsessed with blood status. I was raised on those thoughts, and yes, I believed them," Regulus poured out. "But when you came along, with your ridiculous ideals—" He paused. "I'm starting to sound like a Hufflepuff, aren't I?"

"Hey," a voice softly exclaimed. "I take offense at that."

Phoebe and Paige had arrived.

"Did we miss anything?" Paige asked.

"Just my brother's confession of love."

"I've already made my choice," said Regulus.

Prue sighed. "Yeah, you are sounding Hufflepuff."

There was another silence.

"Well?" Regulus prompted.

"Well what?"

"Don't play coy, Prue. We're too Slytherin for that."

"Yes, I love you, but it's not that simple."

"I know." Another pause, long enough for a kiss. "I'm sorry about my mother. She's…"

"Still your mother."

Piper chanced a peek around the corner. Regulus's arms were circled around Prue's waist. They looked as though they had paused in the middle of a dance.

"I'm pretty sure that your brother is listening to us. Along with my sisters."

The four eavesdroppers made to run, but Prue's "Hold it!" stopped them. With impressive speed, Prue reached them. She folded her arms and arched one eyebrow. "Spying on us?"

"We were just worried," Piper said. "Right, Pheebs?" She elbowed her sister.

"Ow! I mean, right. That was a nasty Howler."

"Yeah," Prue said, the amusement fading from her face.

"It doesn't change anything, though," Regulus said. "Prue and I are moving in together."

Piper could think of only one response. "Prue, Grams is going to kill you! Have you told her?"

"Not exactly," Prue admitted. "I was thinking I'd mention that after I told her that I'm not coming back next year."

Grimly, Phoebe patted Prue's arm. "It was good knowing you, Prue. You're going to leave me that green jumper, right?"

"I think she'll understand why you're not coming back," Piper said. "Phoebe and I will have to think about that eventually. It's the moving out that's going to get her."

Prue grimaced, but when she looked at Regulus, her expression softened. "It's worth it."

Regulus nudged her gently. "Hufflepuff," he said.

Phoebe threw her hands up. "That's it! I'm leaving."

**A/N: This is not over yet. I still have two more chapters, so keep an eye out.**


	23. Guilt Trip

**A/N: Wow. I can't believe I've been away from this site for three years. I did mean to finish this story, but never got around to it. Now I've got something of a sequel brewing in my head. Probably, I'll create a new story rather than keep updating this one. We'll see. I'm sure this story's been abandoned by all readers, but hopefully, I might pick up some new ones with this next installment. **

Prue wiped her hand across her forehead, thinking, yet again, how much easier moving would be if she knew more magic. How had she managed to accumulate so much stuff, anyway? She'd been living in one room her whole life, and yet it seemed like she had enough odds and ends to fill a house. She really should have allowed Regulus to do the moving, as he'd offered.

But Prue was feeling guilty. Regulus was giving up so much to be with her; the least she could do was move her own stuff into their new flat. Regulus hadn't yet been disinherited by his parents for dating Prue—indeed, ever since Sirius had left home and moved into the Potter home, it looked like there was no way his parents would disinherit him. But he had been cut off, and it was proving suspiciously difficult for him to get a job in the wizarding world. He kept insisting that he didn't mind his job in construction, but Prue knew that he hated being reduced to working like a muggle. He'd been groomed for a life in the Ministry, and this life had to be a disappointment for him.

Not that Prue really enjoyed her job as a waitress, but at least she was used to working without using magic. And while she was giving up her dreams of university—for the moment, anyway—she was doing that because she was still working intensively on her magical education with Leo and her mother. It seemed that all the time she didn't spend waiting tables she spent waving her wand, or mixing up potions, or reciting spells. And then there were the demon attacks, which had picked up immediately after the sisters had left Hogwarts.

The attacks were the reason she and Regulus had put off moving until September. Her sisters would shortly be headed to the safety of Hogwarts, so Prue didn't have to worry about protecting them. Grams had still raised hell when Prue had followed through with her plans to move out. Prue had explained, patiently, that she'd be the only one living at the Manor, as Grams had decided to teach another year at Hogwarts. Their argument had never really reached a resolution, but Prue was in her flat with Regulus, and that was all that mattered.

"_Wingardium leviosa_," she murmured, levitating a book onto a shelf. She did it less out of need and more because she still got a thrill every time she performed a spell. A simple charm was a nice change of pace for her, as well. Mostly, she learned spells for battle in her lessons, though Leo also threw in some everyday, practical magic.

Prue jumped at the sound of the door opening. She turned around, smiling. "Welcome home," she said, as Regulus entered the flat.

Regulus looked around the room. "Prue," he said, "you really should let me do this for you. It's going to take you forever."

"Are you saying I have too much stuff?" she said, teasingly. Before he could answer, she stole a kiss from his lips. "My sisters are coming tonight. They want to see the new place."

"Good," he said, nodding distractedly. His brow was creased with worry.

"What's wrong?"

He held up a letter. "It's from mother. She says father's ill."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Prue said. "Why aren't you there?"

"I wasn't sure…" he trailed off, looking away.

"That I'd approve? For God's sake, Regulus, you don't have to ask me. Go," she said softly, touching his arm.

Regulus gave her a small smile. "I'll be back soon." With that, he disapparated, leaving Prue to continue unpacking.

Not much time had passed when a knock came at the door. Prue wasn't expecting anyone. Wand out, she crossed the room and opened the door. "Narcissa," she said, surprised.

"Were you expecting someone else?" Narcissa responded, eyeing Prue's wand.

"Can't be too careful these days," Prue said and put her wand away. "Please, come in. It's kind of a mess right now, sorry."

Narcissa examined the room with a critical eye. "Where's the rest of it?" she asked, dryly.

"This is it," Prue said. "Not really up to your family's standards, but it's what we can manage right now."

Narcissa hummed disapprovingly. "Uncle Orion really is being absurd about this. Even if you aren't pureblood, you're a Warren, and a Charmed One. He should be happy to join the Black family to yours."

Prue held up her hands. "Whoa. First off, we're just living together. We're not getting married. Yet. And second, you don't really believe in the pureblood trash, do you?"

Narcissa turned up her nose. "It's not trash."

Prue wasn't in the mood to have this argument with her friend, so she changed the subject. "Well, what brings you to this half-blood's humble abode?"

"I wanted to bring you a gift." Narcissa presented a wine bottle to her. "Dom perignon. It's French," she added, off Prue's blank look.

"Thank you," Prue said, accepting the gift. She knew nothing about wine, but she was sure Regulus would know what it was. Not for the first time in Narcissa's presence, Prue felt a bit like a peasant talking to a noble. She had to remind herself that yes, Narcissa was her friend, against all odds. "Won't you have a seat?"

Narcissa at least tried to disguise her reluctance to sit down on their second hand sofa. "I'm getting married soon," she said, finally having a seat. "I'd like you to be my maid of honor."

"What? When did you meet someone?" Narcissa had never mentioned dating anyone.

Narcissa looked at her like she was an idiot. "It's Lucius Malfoy, Prue. The one I've been set to marry since I was a child."

"Oh, right." Prue frowned. "You're really going through with that? Even though you don't love him?"

Narcissa laughed. "Merlin, Prue. Not all of us are willing to throw away a fortune for love."

Prue cringed. She didn't need that reminder. "I'd be honored to be in the wedding, Narcissa."

Narcissa gave her an almost genuine smile. "Excellent. Lucius is looking forward to finally meeting you, you know."

"I'm looking forward to meeting him too," Prue lied. She'd heard a lot about Lucius Malfoy, and most of it was bad. She was about as eager to meet him as she was to meet Voldemort.

"He's not so bad," Narcissa said, but it sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than Prue. "His family is very well-respected, and he's got a promising career." She went on to describe all the positives of marrying Lucius, but as she always did when discussing Lucius, Narcissa had doubt in her eyes. Prue couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for her. She'd been preparing for this marriage for years; she had never had a choice. Sometimes Prue wondered if the idea of not marrying Lucius had ever crossed her mind before she'd met Prue.

There was no point trying to argue for love with Narcissa, so Prue decided to offer her support. "I'm sure he'll make a fine husband," she forced herself to say. Narcissa looked pleased.

They spoke for some length about the wedding. The picture Narcissa painted was lavish, with peacocks and designer dresses and the finest champagne. It made Prue's head spin just thinking about it. If she and Regulus ever got married, it'd probably be a quiet affair, maybe at the Manor. She'd always loved that house.

"Well, I must be going," Narcissa said, standing. "I'll owl you more details about the wedding."

Prue followed her to the door. "I look forward to it." She hesitated, then leaned forward and gave her friend a brief hug. Narcissa went stiff in her arms. Prue stepped back.

Narcissa was giving her an odd look. "You're a strange person, Prue, did you know?"

Prue laughed a little. "I've been told."

With Narcissa gone, Prue returned to her task of unpacking. She managed to get her things put in their proper places by the time her sisters tumbled out of the fireplace, the feature that had prompted Regulus and Prue to take this flat.

"Prue!" Paige squealed and hugged her like they hadn't seen each other for ages, even though it had only been a few days.

"Hey, kid," Prue said, hugging her back.

Piper and Phoebe were dusting off their clothes and looking around the room. "Wow. Kind of small, isn't it?" Phoebe said.

Prue shrugged. "Prices in London are outrageous. It'll work for us."

Piper was holding a bundle of green sticks. "What's that for?" Prue asked.

"Blessing the apartment. Grams wanted us to burn it around the flat," she explained.

"She also sent these," Phoebe said, digging out some crystals from her bag. "For protection."

"Oh, and I brewed these." Paige brought out some potion bottles. Vanquishing potions, no doubt. "Grams really wants to make sure you're protected."

"Obviously," Prue said. "I guess I should be grateful she's not sending Howlers."

"I think she'd given up. She knows you're just as stubborn as she is," Phoebe said.

Prue threw her a look. "I'm not stubborn. I just know when I'm right."

Phoebe rolled her eyes. "Right."

"So where's Regulus?" Piper asked.

"Home. His father's not well."

As always, Phoebe frowned at the mention of Regulus. Even though he'd chosen Prue over his family, Phoebe still didn't trust him. Prue hoped that with time, she'd come to believe he wasn't evil.

"Oh, that's too bad."

There wasn't much of a tour to be had of the flat, so the sisters sat down together and chatted. The conversation turned quickly to the upcoming school year. They had all been studying intensively over the summer, to the point where Piper and Phoebe were too advanced to take the second year classes. They'd be studying with Leo, while Paige continued with her second year.

"I can't wait to do something other than vanquishing potions," Paige said, excitedly. "I looked at the second year potions book, and they all look so interesting."

Phoebe pulled a face. "Yuck. I'm not looking forward to potions."

Phoebe's potion-making skills had improved over the summer, but it was still her least favorite subject. Paige, too, had seen some improvement in her skills, but in her defense skills. Piper, as she had in their muggle school, generally excelled at everything she attempted. She was even growing to enjoy magic. Prue had witnessed so many changes in her sisters over the past year and a half; she could hardly believe they were the same people, sometimes. Paige and Phoebe got along famously these days, and the only sisterly disputes were over who owned which shirt.

Grams, Patty, and Leo were all pleased with the changes in the sisters. Prue had a feeling that their progress as sisters was part of the reason they had agreed to let Prue live on her own. The Power of Four was strong, and it could stand up to any threats that came along.

Prue leaned back, feeling content. Not everything in her life was perfect, but this moment, sitting with her sisters in her new flat, felt pretty good.

* * *

Marie wrapped her arms around her once more. "Oh, Rhiannon, you have to write us," she said. "Promise me."

"I promise," Kira said, her heart squeezing painfully. Rhiannon's cousin was such a sweet girl. Her aunt and uncle, as well as her cousin Ryan, had been so kind to her over the summer. It was almost unbearable for the Seer.

"Be safe," Rhiannon's uncle said.

Kira nodded. "I will." She then passed through the barrier to platform nine and three-quarters, pushing her things in a cart ahead of her. Once on the platform, she scanned the crowd for Phoebe Halliwell, both hoping and not hoping she'd see her.

"Rhiannon!" Phoebe raced over to her, grinning from ear to ear. "Oh Merlin, I've missed you."

To Kira's dismay, Phoebe also threw her arms around her in a hug. "I've missed you too," she said, wondering if she could die from the pain she was currently feeling, and had been feeling ever since she'd left Hogwarts. She'd been under careful protection the whole summer, with Luke often dropping in to check on her.

They all thought she was Rhiannon Williams, an innocent orphaned witch. She sensed such love from them, every time they were near. If they knew she was really a demon, sent by Lord Voldemort, they'd hate her. They'd want to kill her. And she deserved it.

Because of the protection she'd been placed under, she'd had no contact with Voldemort, which was well enough. She knew he wanted her dead, anyway, since she had failed to help him destroy the Power of Four. If he didn't kill her, his follower Sullivan would. He'd always hated her for stealing the Dark Lord's attention.

For a moment, she imagined Sullivan showing up on the platform. Her heart beat faster. What would she do if he did? Fight back? Let him kill her? She didn't know.

"Come on, I think my sisters are in this compartment," Phoebe's voice broke through her fantasy. Somehow, she'd gotten on the train without noticing.

Lily and two girls Kira didn't recognize were also in the compartment with Piper. "Paige is off with her friends," Piper said.

Kira felt less twisting guilt and more anxiety in Piper's presence. The sisters made her nervous; she was so sure that one of them would spot that she was actually a demon. Piper only smiled at her as she sat down, though.

"How was your summer, Ray?" Phoebe asked as they settled in.

"Great," she said, falsely bright. "But I couldn't do much. Luke practically lived on my shoulder the whole time."

Phoebe nodded. "I know the feeling. My mum and Leo wouldn't let us go anywhere. Felt like all we did was study and practice. Oh, and fight off the demons that kept attacking us."

Rhiannon's heart dropped at the mention of the word "demon." "Which ones attacked you?"

"Oh, I don't know. Lots of them. Nace, I think. Cadfan. Uxia. You know, ones with weird sounding names."

Kira knew Uxia. She was a nasty one, handpicked by Lord Voldemort. She and Kira had never gotten along, but then again, how many demons did?

She found herself relaxing as the train ride went on. As guilty as she felt, she was selfish enough to allow herself to enjoy Phoebe's companionship.

The compartment door suddenly opened, and for the first time in months, Kira looked upon Sirius Black.

She didn't mean to leap up and then fall forward into him as the train rattled along, but she did, laughing. "Sirius!" And then she was kissing him, and his arms were around her waist.

"God, getting a room," Phoebe said in mock disgust.

"Good idea," Sirius said, pulling Kira out of the compartment. "I've missed you." He kissed her again, and she could feel how much he'd missed her in the kiss.

The hallway in the train was an awkward place to make out, and every so often a student pushed past them, interrupting them. But Kira kept kissing Sirius like she really was a sixteen-year-old girl, rather than the two-hundred-year-old demon she actually was.

"Oi, so that's where he's gone." James's voice. They'd been discovered. "Abandoning us for a bird, for shame, Sirius."

"Like you wouldn't do the same," Sirius responded, his hands not leaving Kira's hips. He nodded at the compartment door. "Lily's in there."

"Is she?" James pushed past them, eagerly, and entered the compartment. "Evans!"

"Nice to see you too, James," Kira called after him. "Remus, Peter. I do hope your summers were pleasant."

The two boys nodded. "But dull, compared to theirs," Peter said, gesturing toward Remus and Sirius.

"Demons?" Kira said, concerned.

"Yeah. And…" Sirius looked around to make sure the hall was clear. "A Death Eater. I got his hood off. Man named Sullivan. He's in Azkaban now, awaiting trial."

Kira felt a rush off relief. Well, at least she didn't have to worry about him.

Suddenly, James was pushed out of the compartment. "And stay out!" Lily yelled.

"I think I'm wearing her down," James said, looking pleased with himself.

"Just keep telling yourself that, mate," Sirius said.

Kira could have told him that by next year, he'd be with Lily, but she kept that knowledge to herself. James had a lot to learn before that happened.

"Come on," James said, dragging Sirius away.

Sirius shrugged in apology. "I'll see you at the castle, Ray."

Kira returned to the compartment. It was all too easy to slip back into Rhiannon's life, so easy to pretend that she really was Rhiannon. But the truth had to come out sometime, if Voldemort didn't get to her first. Kira ignored this realization, telling herself that at least she could be happy until that happened.


	24. Worries

**A/N: I've already started on the next chapter for this. I'm pretty excited about this, actually. **

**TwilightCharmedFaie: I'm definitely sticking with this. Hope you enjoy the update.**

**Wiccanforever: Hurray, a new reader! I'm glad you like the story so far.**

He bowed before the Dark Lord. "My Lord," he said in a low voice.

"Malfoy." The Dark Lord's voice was impossible to read, as was his inhuman face, once Lucius straightened. "You come with good news, I hope?"

"I'm afraid we weren't able to intercept the Seer, my Lord," he said. "She was too well protected."

"No!" the Dark Lord hissed. "For three months you have done nothing but fail me. I want the Seer dead!"

"My Lord, you must understand—"

"Silence!" The Dark Lord paced furiously, his wand gripped in his hand.

Lucius waited for the Dark Lord to speak, keeping his features carefully blank. He could not show fear.

"They believe she is safe at Hogwarts," the Dark Lord said. "We will take advantage of that." He turned on Lucius. "I have a new mission for you, Malfoy. You have kept the dairy safe?"

"Of course, my Lord."

"You must get it to one of the Charmed Ones." He paused, smiling to himself. "Yes, make it the youngest. Paige."

"I will not fail you."

* * *

Phoebe looked down at the dull orange potion bubbling before her. "Oh crap," she mumbled. Somehow, she'd messed up. Her first Potions lesson with Leo, and she'd managed to mess up the potion.

Leo frowned down at her potion. "I'm… actually, I'm not sure what you could have done to get this," he admitted. "You'd better vanish it."

"_Evanesco_," Phoebe said, with a wave of her wand. The past half-an-hour's work disappeared. "I don't get it. I followed the directions, I swear." She sighed. "Okay, maybe I got a little distracted. This stuff is so boring."

"This 'stuff' is of vital importance, Phoebe," Leo said.

Phoebe looked over at Piper. Her potion looked fine. Phoebe let out a small sound of frustration. "I was doing okay with potions last year," she said. That was probably because of her lessons with Severus Snape, but she'd never admit that Severus had helped her. Phoebe prayed Leo wouldn't remember that she'd been tutored last year.

"Weren't you getting tutored last year?" Piper said, bottling her own potion. It was the perfect shade, perfect consistency. For a moment, Phoebe hated her sister a little.

"Yeah, but that didn't help at all," Phoebe insisted. "I'm just not used to doing regular potions, after all the vanquishing potions we had to do this summer." Vanquishing potions didn't have much variety in ingredients or method. She'd gotten so used to the formula of vanquishing potions, in fact, that she felt like she could do them blindfolded. These potions, however, required a lot more precision and focus.

Leo considered her. "Maybe," he said. "But if you keep having trouble, I'll see if we can get you tutoring again."

While Piper moved on to history, Phoebe struggled to make the potion correctly. If Severus were here, he'd be snapping at her that she was doing everything wrong. Hold the knife this way, not like that. Don't cut it like that, do it like this. She had thought that having lessons with Leo would be better than having Potions class, but she was still having trouble focusing.

_So pretend Severus is here_, she told herself, but it was hopeless. Eventually, Leo left Piper to do an essay and patiently walked her through the potion. Under his careful guidance, she produced an acceptable potion, but it wasn't like he could walk her through every potion. She had to get better at this, one way or another. And as long as it didn't involve Severus, she was willing to try.

She found herself missing having classes as the day wore on. As much as Phoebe liked Leo, it was tiring spending the whole day with him talking them through Potions, History, Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Charms. Herbology was the one subject they weren't taking with Leo; for that, they'd be joining the regular class.

So yes, Phoebe's mind wandered a bit. She thought of Quidditch, which she couldn't wait for. It was too bad Prue wasn't around; Phoebe always enjoyed flying with her, as well as playing against her.

"Phoebe," Leo's voice broke through her thoughts, bringing her back to Charms. "Disarming charm."

"Oh, right. _Expelliarmus_," she said, pointing at Piper, whose wand flew across the room.

"Hey," Piper said, annoyed.

Leo tried not to smile, but failed. "No demonstration necessary, Phoebe. But well done."

Phoebe retrieved her sister's wand for her. "So, not that I'm eager to leave or anything, but are we almost done?" She was starting to think she would go crazy if she had to stay in this room any longer.

Leo glanced at the clock. "Yes, we're done. You did well today, girls."

Phoebe stopped herself from leaping out of her chair and instead rose slowly and left. She wanted to find Rhiannon. She was worried about her friend. Rhiannon wasn't acting like herself. Something seemed to have happened over the summer, but Rhiannon had mentioned nothing in the letters she'd sent. Phoebe needed to make sure her friend was okay.

She didn't find Rhiannon until dinner. "Where have you been?" she asked, sitting.

"I took a walk around the castle," she said. "I missed this place."

"Could have taken a walk with me," Phoebe grumbled.

"Sorry," Rhiannon said, looking down at her plate. She wasn't eating.

"All right," Phoebe said. "What's up with you?"

"What do you mean?" Rhiannon said, not looking up.

"You seem miserable. Even when Sirius is around, you can hardly even bring yourself to smile. Something's up," Phoebe said. She put her hand on her friend's shoulder. "You can tell me anything, you know."

Rhiannon finally raised her eyes. "I really don't deserve a friend like you."

"Sure you do." Phoebe was trying to read Rhiannon's eyes, but they were carefully shielded. "Come on, tell me what's wrong."

Rhiannon smiled weakly. "It's really nothing. It's just…" She stopped and pushed her food around her plate for a few moments. Phoebe patiently waited. "It's my family. Seeing them this summer was hard."

"You don't like them?"

"No, I do," Rhiannon said. "They're great. But it's hard to be with them."

"Because they're not her," Phoebe finished.

Rhiannon nodded slowly. "I thought I was over it. I guess not."

"You don't get over it," Phoebe said. "I didn't. I mean, I got her back, but before that, I wasn't over my mum's death. I always missed her, even though I was so young when she died." She squeezed Rhiannon's shoulder. "But it does start to hurt less. It takes a long time, but it does hurt less."

"What if I told you—" Rhiannon cut off, and again Phoebe waited for her. Rhiannon swallowed hard. "It was my fault," she said, so softly it was almost a whisper.

"Rhiannon, it was not your fault," Phoebe said firmly. "A demon killed her. You couldn't have done anything."

"But I'm a seer. I should have seen what was going to happen." She sighed, her body slumping. "I'm sorry. I don't even know what I'm saying."

"It's okay," Phoebe assured her.

Rhiannon stood. "I'm just going to go lie down for a while. I'll see you later, Phoebe." She started to walk away, but stopped. "Thank you."

"Of course." Phoebe watched her friend walk away. She was more worried about her friend now than she had been before. She remembered Rhiannon as she had met her—playful, mischievous, and full of life. Phoebe had never heard her really express sadness over her mother's death. Perhaps she had kept it all locked up inside, and now she was finally starting to feel the loss, after staying with her extended family.

Briefly, she thought about talking to Sirius, but she doubted he knew anything that she didn't. She'd lost her appetite, so she decided to go practice a little flying. She left the hall, grabbed her broom, and headed out.

Usually, flying cleared her mind, but it wasn't working today. Rhiannonn wasn't the only thing bothering her. Being back at Hogwarts had brought back memories of what had happened last year, with Anton. He was vanquished for good, but she was beginning to wonder when the next evil would get to her and her sisters. Piper, Phoebe, and Paige were supposed to be protected at Hogwarts, but she wasn't entirely confident that demons and warlocks wouldn't find a way to get past that protection. Voldemort, so far, had been strangely uninterested in them, and that worried her, as well as Patty and Leo. Why hadn't he sent his Death Eaters after them, when he had already gone after Lily, Sirius, James, and Remus? The question was thus far unanswered.

She tried practicing some Quidditch moves, but her heart wasn't in it. Finally, she gave up and headed back to the castle.

* * *

"You're going to the library? You've already got an essay or something?" Shay asked.

"Just for a little bit," Paige said, grabbing her knapsack. "I wanted to do some studying."

Shay rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, Paige. You can study anytime. Bridget and I want to do something fun."

"So get started without me. I'll only be there a little while, I promise."

Shay stared her down. "Fine. I'll see you later, then."

Paige gave her a small smile and left the Gryffindor common room. Normally, Paige would be happy to spend some time with her friends, but she hadn't had the chance to get to the library since she'd returned to Hogwarts. She was eager to see what information the school library had to offer on the subject she'd been secretly studying during the summer.

Only the most diligent students were in the library on this beautiful Friday afternoon. For once, Paige couldn't spot Piper among them. Paige was glad; Piper spent too much time studying. She headed into the stacks, knowing exactly where to go.

She scanned the shelves, looking for the thinnest, most basic volume. Many of the titles are in foreign languages, mostly German and Latin, Paige guessed. She picked out one in English, bearing the title _Skinwalkers, Vilkacis, and Rakshasa: Werewolves around the World_.

She settled down with the book and was pleased to find it was a relatively easy read. The books she'd taken from Grams's library over the summer had been full of terms she hadn't understood. Those books had been frustrating to read, but reading this book, an hour passed without her noticing. If she didn't leave soon, Shay and Bridget would come and drag her away themselves. Reluctantly, she rose and left the library.

She hadn't learned much from this book that she hadn't already read about werewolves, but she was determined to read as many books on the subject of lycanthropy as she possibly could. It wasn't just that Remus was a werewolf. Of course not. No, she just found the subject interesting. She hoped that someday, she'd be the one to find a cure that had eluded potion-makers for centuries.

She indulged in her fantasy of becoming an expert potions-maker as she walked to the Gryffindor tower. Though she wasn't staying in her house's quarters, her friends kept her updated on the password so that they could spend time together.

"Gegenes," Paige said to the fat lady. The portrait swung open, and she stepped inside. Shay and Bridget, she found, were playing a game of chess. Paige couldn't understand why chess was so popular among witches and wizards; even with the pieces smashing each other, she found it a dull game. Shay was still trying to convince her otherwise.

"Finally," Bridget said. "Shay's been beating me all evening. Now you can lose miserably to her."

"What fun," Paige said, as Shay put Bridget in checkmate.

Shay positively cackled. "Have a seat, Paige," she said.

Paige sighed and took Bridget's place. "I still don't get why you love this game so much," she said, partly to get her friend going.

As Paige expected, Shay launched into a rant about the merits of chess and the real world applications of strategy. At some point, with Paige losing badly, the chess match turned into a friendly chat about what they thought of their classes, the first-years, and so on. Soon, Paige realized that it was approaching curfew, and she still had to get to the room she was sharing with her sisters. She said good night to her friends and head out into the darkened hallways of the castle.

Paige loved Hogwarts, but in the nearly deserted halls, she found herself feeling a little spooked. It was absurd; Paige had fought warlocks and demons, and she was still jumping at shadows. She scolded herself for being relieved when she reached her room. She was witch, for God's sake. She really needed to develop tougher nerves.

"Hey, Paige," Piper greeted her. "Prue sent you something." She gestured toward a small package on the bed.

Curious, Paige picked up the package and unwrapped it to find a small book and a note.

_Dear Paige,_

_Thought you might want something to write your thoughts in this year. Hope you like it._

_-Prue_

Paige flipped through the blank pages. She'd kept diaries before, but she hadn't bothered in the last year. Maybe it was time to try another diary. She placed the book on her nightstand. She'd start writing some other night.


	25. Suspicions and a New Power

**A/N: I've almost finished the next chapter, so another update will be coming very soon.**

**TwilightCharmedFaie: Thank you for the review. **

So far, Piper was pleased with how things were going at Hogwarts. She was doing well in her lessons with Leo. There had been no attacks—not that there would be, while they were at the school. She'd picked up where she had left off with Dan. All things considered, this was looking like a good year.

She'd just come to this conclusion when everything went wrong.

They were working on potions with Leo when Phoebe's potion started bubbling over. "Piper, help!" Phoebe cried.

Piper waved her hands, expecting the potion to freeze. It did not. Instead, the cauldron exploded. Phoebe managed to dive out of the way in time, avoiding the cauldron shrapnel. "What the hell!" Phoebe said, staring at her older sister with wide eyes.

Piper looked down at her hands, then at the remains of the cauldron. "Leo?" she asked, shakily.

"It looks like your second power is manifesting itself," he said. "Molecular combustion. Are you all right, Phoebe?"

"Yeah, fine." Phoebe stood, still staring at her sister. "Wait, another power? Why's she getting another power?"

"You're the Charmed Ones," he said. It was response he'd given a hundred times. As if they could forget. "You're all going to develop more than one power."

Slowly, Piper lowered her hands. "But I wanted to freeze the potion. I've still got that power, right?"

"Yes, you do," Leo said. "You just have to work out how to control this new power. You'll have to be careful about your emotions right now. If you let them get out of control, you might find yourself blowing up everything around you."

Piper's heart beat faster. She really didn't like the sound of this new power. "And how do I control it?"

"The same way you learned to control your freezing power," Leo responded. "Concentrate."

Yeah, that was helpful. "I'm not sure I like this new power," she said.

Leo smiled at her, which always made her melt. "You'll get used to it. Now, we'd better clean up this potion before it eats through the floor."

Leo didn't seem worried about her new ability, but Piper was. She decided she would try to freeze anything else for a while.

But after a year of having her power, freezing had become second nature. So when Lily accidently knocked over her orange juice the next morning, Piper tried to freeze it and blew it up instead. Both she and Lily ended up in the hospital wing, having glass bits removed from the their hands after they automatically shielded their faces. Piper sobbed an apology to her friend, hating her magic. Lily, of course, forgave her immediately and tried to reassure her that it was fine. "I'm sure you'll get the hang of it," she said, but Piper wasn't so sure.

Piper took to keeping her arms tight to her sides whenever possible. She hadn't tried to freeze anything for a week, and she felt proud that she hadn't had any accidents.

Then, they had their first lesson with Patty. Her mother had decided that it would be beneficial to continue the lessons they'd had last year with the sisters, Lily, Sirius, Remus, and James. Piper didn't mind the lessons—Phoebe grumbled about never getting to have a life—but she changed her mind quickly.

"You have to get control of your power, Piper," Patty said, holding up a pillow.

"But I'm afraid I'll hurt someone," Piper protested.

"If you practice, you'll learn how to use your power without getting anyone hurt. Now, everyone back up," Patty said.

The others in the room hurriedly stepped back. _They're afraid of me_, Piper thought, miserably.

"Ready? Go!" Patty threw the pillow up in the air, and Piper flicked her fingers. The chalkboard blew up instead. With James's quickly cast spell, the chalkboard shards disappeared before they could do any harm.

"You see?" Piper said. "I'm a total menace!"

"No, you're not," Patty said, but Piper could see the concern in her eyes. "Remus, could you cast a shielding spell on that side of the room?"

Remus obliged. Piper felt a little better, though she was still reluctant to use her power.

"Let's try again." Once more, Patty threw the pillow in the air, and Piper aimed for it.

Instead, her mother exploded into a thousand orbs. Piper screamed, convinced for a split second that she'd killed her mother. Then, Patty re-formed, unharmed. "I'm fine, I'm perfectly fine," she said.

Piper was shaking. She felt ill. "I'm not doing that again," she said.

"Piper," Patty started.

"No! I won't do it. I won't!" She crossed her arms tightly. "I should just bind my powers."

"Piper, please don't talk like that," Patty said, approaching her daughter. "You're going to get it, I swear. But it's going to take time. And practice."

Piper just shook her head.

It seemed like everyone in the room tried to convince Piper to try again, but she resolutely refused. Finally, they gave up and moved on to Sirius. He'd been working on planting thoughts, and they were all his guinea pigs.

"What?" Paige said. "What about Rhiannon?"

Sirius said nothing, but Piper could see him concentrating harder.

_Rhiannon… most… beautiful… _"No, I didn't catch that," Piper said.

"Oh for Circe's sake," James said, catching on. "Write love notes to your girlfriend some other time, Sirius."

"Shut it," Sirius responded.

"Rhiannon is the most beautiful psychic?" Phoebe said. "I'm offended, Sirius. What about me?" She winked at him. Piper knew she wasn't really flirting with him; she was loyal to Rhiannon, and had, for the most part, given up on her boy-chasing ways.

"Well done, Sirius," Patty said. "I think that's enough practice for today. You're all free to go."

Piper escaped before her mother could lecture her on the importance of gain control over her power. As far as she was concerned, this power was a curse, and she was going to avoid using it as much as she possibly could.

* * *

Lily narrowed her eyes. "Who do they think they're fooling?" she muttered.

"What's that?" Lexa said. "You going to eat or not, Lily?"

Lily didn't respond. "Not me, that's for sure."

"You know, it's kind of unnerving when you talk to yourself," Mary said.

"Morning," Piper said as she sat with them. Lily glanced at her long enough to see that she was wearing mittens.

"New fashion statement?" Lily asked.

"Trying to keep my powers under control," Piper explained. The mittens were making it difficult for her to butter her toast. She frowned, but didn't remove them.

"Piper, you know you can't avoid using your powers forever," Lily said.

"We'll see about that."

Shrugging, Lily turned her attention back to the Gryffindor table, where James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter sat. Piper followed the line of her gaze.

"Something wrong?" she asked.

"Yes, there is," Lily said. "It's been two weeks, and they still haven't done anything. It's driving me crazy."

"You mean pranks? Maybe they've outgrown that nonsense," Mary suggested.

"Ha! Like Potter and his crew could ever grow up." Lily stabbed her eggs. "I'll bet they're cooking up something big. They're just trying to get me to relax, so they can catch me unaware. Well it's not going to happen."

Lexa, Mary, and Piper all stared at her. "Lily," Lexa said, "I'm a little concerned about you."

Lily waved her hand. "Don't be." Should she try remote viewing, try to pick up on their conversation? She didn't dare. James would probably sense her before she could get any information.

What was he waiting for? Did he think she'd strike first? Like she was that stupid. But, she had to admit, James and Sirius hadn't been up to their old tricks during the summer, either. She'd figured then that they were waiting for the school year to begin, but so far, they had done nothing.

Lily's left eye twitched. She was starting to get a little crazy from the anticipation. What was it going to be? They'd never really paid her back for making them lose their clothes in front of the whole school. Did she have some nudity of her own to look forward to? Or would it be one of their classics, like spiders in her underwear? Lily cringed at the memory. She'd nearly ended up naked that time, as she tore at her robes trying to get the spiders out. Toad breath hex? Too mild. Surely they'd go for something a little more interesting.

She was distracted in all her classes that day. In Defense Against the Dark Arts, which she shared with the Gryffindors, she kept casting glances at James. He didn't look like he was up to something, but he'd long ago mastered the look of innocence.

At the end of class, Lily could no longer stand it. "If you think I'm going to let my guard down, you are sorely mistaken," she said, cornering James by the door.

"What are you on about, Evans?" he said.

"I know you're up to something," she said.

"Er, no, not that I know of," James said. He looked to Sirius. "Are we up to anything, Padfoot?"

"Nothing lately."

Lily's nostrils flared. "I'm watching you, Potter." She turned on her heel and stomped away.

But nothing did happen that day, or the next.

"I think it's time to let this go," Lexa gently told her, as they sat in the Ravenclaw common room.

"But I don't get it," Lily said. "He's never waited this long before. It must be killing him."

"Lily, I think Lexa's right," Piper said. "You need to let go of this."

"I can't," she said. "Not until something happens."

"Why can't you?" Piper asked, writing down a sentence on a piece of parchment. Lily wondered how she managed such good penmanship with mittens on.

"Because he always does something. It's just how we are."

Lexa and Piper exchanged a look. "Maybe things have changed," Piper said. "Maybe he's changed."

"I seriously doubt it."

"Why?" Piper persisted. "Just look at Sirius. Now that he's with Rhiannon, he's different. Better. I know you've noticed."

"He's different. Potter… he just doesn't know when to stop."

Lexa and Piper gave up, returning to their homework.

They were wrong, of course. Potter was still trying to use his charms on her, so he hadn't changed. Maybe he was having trouble cooking up a proper prank without Sirius's support.

A week passed, and then another. October arrived without any incident. Lily was beginning to fear she would lose her mind if something didn't happen.

But if he wasn't up to something…

The thought was occurring to her more and more lately. Though Potter still tried to flirt with her every chance he got, he hadn't pulled a single prank, on her or anyone else. He and Sirius were even leaving Severus Snape alone, after years of fighting with him.

Of course he hadn't changed. There was no way.

But it was getting harder for her to believe that.

* * *

The black-edged letter arrived on a Tuesday morning, dropped carelessly into Sirius's lap by the family owl.

_Your father has died._

His mother hadn't signed the note. There was no indication of when the funeral would be, though Sirius could be sure he wouldn't be invited. Sirius folded up the note and put it in his pocket, saying nothing to his friends.

He'd known, through Regulus, that father was ill. Now he was dead. Sirius had never gotten along with his father; indeed, he had always resented the man for trying to force his bigoted ideas on him. Sirius didn't feel sad, exactly, but he wasn't happy to know his father was gone. His first thought was of his mother, and how she'd do without him. No matter how much he'd resented his father, he'd always known that Orion had kept his mother calm and least somewhat sane. Without his father, what would become of his mother?

Another owl swooped by Sirius not long after the first note arrived.

_Sirius,_

_I'm coming to Hogwarts this afternoon. _

_-Regulus_

No doubt to discuss father's death. Though their father had been distant emotionally, Regulus had been closer to their father than Sirius. At least until Regulus had chosen to keep going out with Prue. For an insane moment, Sirius wondered if he had inherited instead of Regulus. But no, if his father had done something like that, his mother would've sent a Howler instead of a note.

"Sirius," James said, concern in his voice.

Sirius turned to his friend. James was smart enough to have guessed who had died, by the note and the recent information Sirius had given him about his father.

"All right, mate?"

"Yeah." Sirius nodded. "Fine."

His classes for that day were uneventful, not that Sirius paid much attention to them. His thoughts kept returning to his parents and how Regulus would deal with being the patriarch of the Black house. It was a role he'd been prepared for since boyhood; Sirius didn't doubt he could handle it. He did doubt, however, that Prue was prepared for the role that would be thrust on her.

Regulus was waiting for him in the dungeons when Sirius left Potions. "Sirius," he said with a nod. "You've heard about father?"

"Yes," he responded. He motioned for his friends to leave him with his brother.

"He passed in his sleep. He didn't suffer," Regulus said. "Shall we walk?"

They turned down the hall. Sirius stuffed his hands into the pockets of his robes. "What happens now?"

"I inherited everything," Regulus said.

"As expected."

Regulus shook his head. "I think father just didn't have the opportunity to rewrite the will." He paused. "Mother's half out of her mind."

"Over father or over the inheritance?" Sirius asked.

"A bit of both, I think," Regulus said. "She wouldn't stop raving about blood purity when I last saw her." He stopped and turned to Sirius. "I think it would be best if you didn't come to the funeral."

"Don't even know when it is, anyway. Maybe you shouldn't go to funeral either."

Regulus shook his head. "I know mother will make a scene, but it's my duty to be there. And it's father. I want to be there."

There was a long silence.

Regulus looked down. "Sirius," he said, in a soft voice, "I don't know what to do."

Sirius studied his brother. "What do you mean?" It wasn't like Regulus to show any kind of weakness.

"Prue and I are just starting a life together. A life that wasn't supposed to include me being the patriarch of the Black family," Regulus said, raising his gaze. "Now I have these obligations, and I just… I don't know what to do."

"You could just walk away," Sirius said. "I did."

"No," Regulus said. "It's not that simple, Sirius. Do you know who'd inherit if I gave it up?"

"Is Uncle Ignatius still alive?"

"He died last year." Regulus paused for effect. "Rodolphus Lestrange."

"Not Bella's husband, Merlin," Sirius said.

"Yes, Bella's husband. And you know what he's like, Sirius."

"You mean evil?"

"That's exactly what I mean." Regulus placed his hands on Sirius's shoulders and looked into his eyes. "He'd get everything. And you know exactly what kind of things father collected. Do you like the idea of Lestrange and Bella getting a hold of so many dark objects?"

Regulus had a point. "All right. I see your dilemma. But Prue—she'll understand."

Regulus dropped his hands. "There are too many things I'm going to have to ask of her. She doesn't deserve it."

"Probably not," Sirius said. "But she loves you, for some reason. She'll understand." He threw his arm across his brother's shoulders. "It'll all work out."

Regulus said nothing. Sirius didn't envy his brother his new position as patriarch. He had many responsibilities now, and many duties to carry out if he intended to shift the Black house away from centuries of bigotry and intolerance. Sirius was lucky to have gotten away; Regulus didn't have that luxury.

"I hope so," Regulus finally said.


	26. Hello Tom

**A/N: Thanks to TwilightCharmedFaie for reviewing again.**

Grams smiled warmly at the boy sitting before her, knowing it wouldn't help. He was a particularly difficult boy, and though she admired his natural talent for potions, she didn't really trust him. Which was why she wanted Phoebe to work with him again. Phoebe had changed a great deal over the past year; as she had last year, she hoped that Phoebe could draw Severus to the light side.

"I'm asking this as a favor, Severus," she said. "You have no obligation. But I would greatly appreciate it if you would help my granddaughter."

"She is completely inept at potions," Severus said. "I doubt there's much I can do for her."

Grams's ire rose at his rude comment, but she forced it back. "That's not true. Last year, I saw a marked improvement in her potions. I believe it was because of your help."

Severus scowled. "She had no focus, no discipline."

Grams decided to change tactics. No more nice professor. "Severus," she said in a firm voice, "I chose to not inform the headmaster about the potions you were making last year. I am not so sure his punishment would have been as light as mine was."

Severus understood the veiled threat. "Fine." He rose to leave.

"Thank you, Severus," she called after him.

Phoebe wasn't going to be happy with her, but she'd get over it.

* * *

Paige piled the books on a deserted table, far from the other students. She didn't want anyone seeing what she was studying. Not that they'd ever figure out why she was studying werewolves, but she couldn't be too careful.

_Compendium Maleficarum_ was at the top of the pile. It was a volume written by a witch-hating muggle, but according to other sources, it contained accurate descriptions of werewolves. She opened it and began to search for the proper section. Before she began to read, she dug in her knapsack for a spare bit of parchment to write notes on. Instead, she pulled out the diary Prue had sent to her. She still hadn't gotten around to writing in it.

It would serve her purpose well. She opened it, bending the spine down so that it lay flat, and began to read. She took notes absently, hardly even paying attention to what her hand was doing. So it came as a surprise to her when she glanced at the diary and found that all of her writing had disappeared.

"What the—" she muttered. Was this some kind of joke book? Did it turn ink invisible as soon as something was written? Experimenting, she wrote, "Hello," and watched it disappear. She remembered a spell to make something reappear, but before she could speak it, a word appeared on the page. "Hello," written in a hand that was not Paige's. It, too, disappeared after a moment.

_Who is this?_ she wrote.

_My name is Tom Riddle._

Tom Riddle. Paige repeated the name to herself, trying to remember if she'd ever heard it before. She hadn't, as far as she could recall.

Now what? Should she write her name? Paige was cautious; she didn't know who this Tom was, or why he was communicating with her.

_Where are you, Tom?_ she finally asked.

_You wouldn't believe me._

Paige's eyebrows went up. _We'll see about that._

_In these pages._

_Yeah, right._ Why on earth had Prue sent her this? Perhaps she'd picked up by mistake, at a wizarding shop. Probably she hadn't realized that there was some kind of spell on it.

_I told you you wouldn't believe me._

_Are you a spell?_

_Yes, you could say that._

Paige didn't like that answer. It didn't seem entirely truthful. _Why are you writing to me?_

_I don't have anyone else to write to._

What purpose could this diary have? Was it something for particularly lonely people, who wanted to not feel so alone? _What's your purpose?_

_Hasn't man asked that question since the dawn of time?_

Paige smiled despite herself. _Spells have a purpose. What's yours?_

A few moments passed before the answer came. _To preserve memories._

Paige was starting to get a little frustrated. _Well, that's obvious. Will you give me a straight answer?_

_That is my purpose._

Paige thought for a while, trying to figure out a question that would get her more information about this diary. _Who made you?_

_A Hogwarts student._

Could this diary get any more vague? _But who?_

_Tom Riddle made me. I am Tom Riddle._

"That makes no sense," she said to the diary in a whisper. _What does that mean?_

_Exactly what I have said._

_You are very frustrating._

_I only want to talk. _

Again, Paige paused to think. What were the important things to determine about this diary? _Is Tom Riddle a demon?_

_No._

The diary could be lying, of course, but she did doubt that a diary could be possessed by a demon. Suddenly, an idea occurred to her. _Are you a book of shadows?_

_Of sorts, yes. _

Paige felt a surge of triumph. Evidently, this was some kind of semi self-aware book of shadows. _How did you make it into a bookshop?_

_I don't know. I'm only a book._

Well, that was reasonable. _Why are there no spells written in you?_

_There are. You just can't see them._

Again, Paige flipped through the pages, hoping to catch sight of some writing. There was nothing. _Why can't I see them?_

_Ask Tom Riddle. As I've said, I'm only a book._

Paige was naturally cautious of the book, but she was also curious. And Prue had sent this book to her. She wouldn't send her anything harmful—unless she didn't know it was harmful. But surely there was no harm in investigating this book a little? Perhaps the diary was some kind of puzzle, that she could solve by asking this Tom Riddle questions.

_Who is this?_

Paige hesitated. She wasn't yet sure whether the book was good or evil, but how much harm could it do to give the book her name? She wrote down her first name. There were plenty of other Paiges in the world.

_Are you at Hogwarts, Paige?_

_That's none of your business. _

_My apologies. I only wanted to know more about you. You've asked so many questions about me._

For a moment, Paige felt a little bad about her comment. But she reprimanded herself. She couldn't trust this book. _I don't know that I can trust you._

_I understand._

Paige stared down at the page. _Tell me about Tom Riddle. Please._

_What would you like to know?_

_When did he go to Hogwarts? _If she learned that information, maybe she could confirm Tom Riddle's existence. She could even try to contact him and tell him about his wayward book of shadows.

_1938._

If he had a book of shadows, he had to be a Wiccan wizard. _What was his Wiccan power?_

_Telepathy._

Paige scratched her chin with her quill, trying to think up another pressing question. She couldn't think of anything. _Good bye, Tom. _She felt slightly foolish for saying good bye to a book.

_Leaving so soon? You still haven't told me anything about yourself._

_You seem very curious about me._

_And you seem very curious about me. It's a lonely existence as a book, you know. Not many people want to talk to a book. _

Paige ignored this and put the book back in her knapsack. She'd think more about this mysterious book later. Now, she wanted to do what she'd come to the library for.

* * *

Prue crossed her arms. "Could you run that by me again?" she said, a sharp edge to her voice.

"Prue, I know this is completely unreasonable," Regulus said. He had that pleading look on his face, the one that Prue could never resist. "But I'm afraid my mother will try to get some of the dark artifacts out of the house or hide them somewhere. Kreacher can't help her, but I'm still worried. And I worry about her being alone. She's not quite as… well, sane as she used to be."

"And how will she feel about a half-blood witch moving into the noble house of Black?"

"She'll throw a fit," Regulus said. "I know that. But I don't want to be there without you."

Prue looked away from his pleading eyes. "What about the flat?"

"I'll take care of it." He took her hands in his. "You're really going to go through with this?"

Prue didn't look at him. "I'm not happy about this. I like our flat."

Regulus laughed. "No, you don't. Just yesterday you said you couldn't stand it another day. Lucky you, you won't have to."

"I misspoke."

"Prue," Regulus said. "Look at me."

Prue tried to resist, but her eyes were drawn irresistably to him. What she saw melted her heart. She could see the love in his eyes, could practically feel it radiating off him.

"Thank you for this. I'll make it up to you, somehow."

"Yeah, yeah." She crossed her arms again. She was trying to stay angry at him, but it was hard when she remembered how much she loved him. "When do we leave?"

"Tonight." Regulus waved his wand, sending things flying into boxes Prue had meant to throw away weeks ago.

"Wait, tonight? So soon?"

"I don't want my mother alone with those objects," Regulus explained. "Plus, it's probably best to get this over with quickly."

"At least tell me she knows we're coming," Prue said.

"Well… no, not exactly. I did tell her that I might move back, but I didn't mention you coming."

"Reg!"

"I'm sorry, Prue, I really am. But I didn't want to have her going off on me."

"And what do you think is going to happen when we get there?"

Regulus winced. "She'll go off on me. Would you get the floo ready?"

"What address?"

"Number twelve, Grimmauld Place."

Regulus decided he'd go first, to prepare his mother for what was to come. It was nearly a half an hour before he poked his head back through the fireplace.

"She's, er, locked herself in her room," he said. "It's probably the best we can hope for right now."

Together, they moved most of the contents of their flat to the Black house. The fireplace brought them to what Prue assumed was the kitchen. She couldn't see or hear anyone. In fact, the house was eerily silent.

"It's just your mother here?" Prue asked. She was whispering, though there was no need.

"And Kreacher, the house elf. He won't bother you."

Prue caught a flash of something gold. "What's that?" she asked, suddenly noticing the ring Regulus was wearing.

"This?" he raised his hand, allowing her to see the crest carved into the gold ring. "Family crest. It was my father's."

Prue wasn't about to protest him wearing his father's ring, but it still bothered her a little. _Cool it, _she told herself. He'd already proven to her that he'd pick her over his family. Now, he didn't have to choose.

Regulus sent their things floating up the stairs, and they followed them.

"Oh, God!" Prue stopped dead in her tracks. "What the hell are those?"

"Ah, those." Regulus looked at the severed heads on the wall. "House elves who were beheaded when they got too old to serve. I meant to get them down before you came."

Prue gaped. "Charming," she finally sputtered.

The room they reached bore a plate with Regulus's name on it. Regulus unpacked their things while Prue sat on the bed and watched him.

"So what am I now?" Prue asked.

"What do you mean?" Regulus smirked as Prue's knickers began to make their way out of a box.

"I can handle that," Prue said, grabbing her knickers and stuffing them into the dresser. "I mean, you're Regulus, patriarch of the Black family. What does that make me?"

"Nothing has to change for you," he said. "You're still Prue," He lowered his wand for a beat. "You're Prue, Charmed One. What does that make me?"

"A big pain in the arse," Prue said. But she was smiling.

Regulus circled his arms around her waist. Her breath caught in her throat. No matter how many times he held her like this, it always felt as good as the first time. "Really? A pain in the arse?"

"Yes," she said. "I can't fathom why I put up with you."

"Maybe it's because of this." He laid a small kiss on her lips. "Or this?" A deeper kiss.

Suddenly, the door burst open. Prue grabbed her wand, ready for a fight. But there was only a woman standing before them, screaming bloody murder. "Filth! Filth in the house of my fathers! Regulus, what have you done?"

"Mrs. Black?" Prue said. Mrs. Black paid her no mind.

"Mother, please," Regulus said.

"Half-blood! Half-breed! After all we taught you!"

"_Silencio_," Regulus said, calmly.

Mrs. Black's eyes bulged. Her mouth remained open in a silent scream.

"Mother, Prue is staying here as long as I do. You're just going to have to accept that. Whether you like it or not, I am the patriarch of this family now. This is my house, and I will bring whomever I want to bring into my home."

"Regulus, you shouldn't speak to your mother like that," Prue said, shocked at his cold tone. As awful as the woman was, she was still his mother.

Mrs. Black bared her teeth, like a dog.

"I'm going to lift the spell. I suggest you go back to your room, mother," Regulus said.

Once the spell was lifted, Mrs. Black didn't say anything. She glared once at Regulus, then turned on her heel and left.

"I know it seems awful of me, Prue, but she'll respect me for embracing the role of patriarch," Regulus said, closing the door. "She won't be happy about it, but she did stop her screaming."

Prue frowned. Even if it was necessary, she didn't like seeing that side of Regulus. "Maybe once she gets to know me—"

"Prue, my mother believes that pure-bloods are superior to all others. She's not going to change her mind any time soon."

His comment stung a little. "Fine. Whatever."

They both went to bed in a bit of a bad mood. Prue hoped that things would be better in the morning.

Prue dreamed of headless house-elves chasing her and awoke to a small, muttering figure by the bed.

"My poor, poor mistress. Master Regulus was such a good boy once. Kreacher thinks the witch put a spell on him."

"Uh, hello?" she said.

The house-elf—Kreacher—stepped back. "The witch tricked poor Master Regulus. Now she lies in his bed like a—"

"Hey," Prue said, angrily. "That's enough."

"Kreacher, leave," Regulus ordered from the other side of the bed.

Kreacher bowed low. "Kreacher does as Master Regulus wishes." He left, still muttering about his poor mistress and his poor master.

"That's your house-elf?"

"Yes," Regulus said, sitting up. "He's bought into the blood purity nonsense. Just try to ignore him."

It was pretty easy to avoid Kreacher. Mrs. Black, however, was another case. Against her better instincts, Prue decided to have a look around the house without Regulus. Mrs. Black was in the first room she entered, having tea.

Mrs. Black threw her teacup at Prue. Prue deflected it. "Mrs. Black!" she said, shocked. Who threw a teacup at someone?

"You filthy whore," Mrs. Black hissed, leaping to her feet. She was surprisingly agile, considering her age. "You defile this house. You defile my son!"

"Now hold on a second—"

"Silence! No matter what my son says, you will not be staying here." Mrs. Black stepped forward; Prue stepped back, into the wall. "You don't belong in this house. The very walls will turn against you, mark my words!" She swept from the room, leaving behind a stunned Prue.

What did that mean, the very walls would turn against her? Nervously, Prue stepped away from the wall and decided to go find Regulus. Surely, he'd reassure her that those were the words of angry, half-mad woman. They meant nothing.


	27. Trouble

**A/N: Thanks again to TwilightCharmedFaie for reviewing.**

Paige knew she shouldn't be writing in the diary again. _Once last _time, she told herself. She'd looked up Tom Riddle and had discovered that he had, as the book had said, gone to Hogwarts in 1938. He'd even been given an award for his services to Hogwarts, though Paige couldn't piece together exactly what he'd done for the school.

_Hello Tom._ What made her come back? She was curious about Tom, but she was more interested in figuring out how and why Tom Riddle had made this diary. It seemed like powerful magic, and Paige wanted to know why Tom had created it and how it had left his possession.

_Hello Paige. Come to ask me more questions?_

So the book had some kind of memory. She hadn't been entirely confident that the book would remember her. Whatever spells had been used, they really were complex. She thought, suddenly, of the spell that had been placed on Phaedra's portrait. But the diary was nothing like that.

_Yes. Do you know what spells were used to make you?_

_I do. I am a spellbook, after all._

_Can you tell me them?_

It took a moment for the reply to appear. _Best not to share those. I don't want them falling in the wrong hands._

Paige was slightly offended by the book's implication. _I'm a Charmed One. I'm not evil, _she wrote before she could think.

_A Charmed One? The Charmed Ones have finally come? _Paige could practically feel the excitement radiating from the book.

Shoot. She hadn't meant to tell Tom that she was a Charmed One.

_Paige, you must tell me more about yourself. _

_No. I shouldn't have told you that._

_You don't trust me? Who will I tell?_

_Of course I don't trust you. I don't even know what you are, really._

The page remained blank for a long time. _I'll have to earn your trust, then._

_Please, just forget about that. I'm not done asking you questions._

_How about we make a deal?_

Paige didn't like the sound of that. _What kind of deal?_

_For every question I answer, you have to tell me something about yourself. Anything—even just your favorite colour._

Paige thought it over. What harm could there be? She could tell Tom little things, stuff that didn't really matter. _Okay._

_Excellent. Ask away._

Paige lost track of time as she asked everything she could think of about the diary and its creator.

In exchange for the answers she received—mostly "no" responses her questions if this spell or that spell had been involved in the making of the diary—she gave Tom small details about her life. Her birthday, her earliest memory, her favorite class. Tom asked her about her lycanthropy notes, and, in a moment of weakness, she admitted to her crush on Remus. She didn't bother to read Tom's response to that; she put the book away, cheeks red.

It was unnervingly easy to relax when she was talking to Tom. He was a good listener—well, as good a listener as a book could be. Though he was interested in her as a Charmed One, he didn't seem interested in her powers, as a warlock would be. Still, she couldn't let him know too much.

"Paige, there you are." Shay and Bridget had found her hiding spot in the library. "What you up to?"

"I was just leaving, actually."

"Good. Shay and I are bored," Bridget said. "Wish we were third years. Then we could go to Hogsmeade."

Paige nodded. "Me too." Then, a thought occurred to her. "Actually, I think I know a way we could get to Hogsmeade." Over the summer, Phoebe had told her about a secret passage in the castle that led to Hogsmeade. She'd winked at Paige, though they both knew Paige would never use the secret passageway.

Why did she suddenly want to break the rules? She, especially, was not allowed to leave the castle's protection. But Paige was chafing at her confinement in the castle. She wanted out.

Shay and Bridget perked up. "Oh yeah?" Shay said. "How's that?"

Paige explained about the mirror with the chipped flower. The three friends left to get their cloaks, meeting back at the Gryffindor tower. They tried to act casual as they made their way to the passageway, suppressing giggles the whole way.

The mirror opened when Paige pressed her wand to the chipped flower. The girls stepped in, whispering excitedly about all that they'd do once they got to Hogsmeade.

"What if there's a teacher's there?" Bridget said, anxiously.

"We'll just have to be stealthy," Paige said.

There were some teachers in Hogsmeade, but Paige was relieved to see that Grams was not among them. Getting in trouble would be bad, but getting in trouble with Grams would be a nightmare.

Paige and her friends, it turned out, were terrible at being stealthy. They tried to blend in with the older students, acting like they belonged, but they kept giggling and shushing each and generally acting like they were up to no good. Luckily for them, the teachers were distracted, keeping an eye out for demons, rather than sneaky second-years.

It seemed like they went into every shop. Paige got bitten by something in the candy shop—it moved too quickly for her to identify what kind of candy it was supposed to be—but that didn't affect her mood one bit.

Once they were done with their fun, they sneaked back into the basement of the quill shop and went back to Hogwarts.

"We should totally do that again some time," Shay said, and Paige agreed.

They hadn't run into any demons. No one had noticed them. Clearly, her family's worries about her safety outside of Hogwarts were unfounded. She'd gone out by herself, and she had returned unscathed. There was no harm in taking advantage of the secret passageway again some other time.

-\

"I said valerian."

"Yes, you did," Phoebe responded, calmly.

"That is vervain," Severus said.

"I know." Before Severus could start on about what an idiot Phoebe was, she spoke. "I also know you're trying to trick me. I studied this potion, because I knew you'd try something. You know I get vervain and valerian mixed up. Vervain is the right ingredient."

Severus crossed his arms and muttered, "Yes."

Phoebe gave him a placid smile. Last year, his attempts to trip her up had annoyed and frustrated her. Now, she could anticipate what he was going to do. She was beginning to remember why lessons with Severus had helped her. She'd always been on guard for sabotage, so she'd always been paying attention. Severus's tricks kept her on her feet.

"If you studied the potion, then you must know you have to stir—"

"Anti-clockwise," she said.

His scowl deepened, while her smile widened. "What do you need me for, then?" he said.

Phoebe tilted her head. "I don't know. Although." She stopped. She didn't want to admit this to him, lest he act even cockier than he already did. "You know some good tricks," she said, quietly.

It was true. Severus had a knack for potions. He knew how to do things better than the books did, better, even, than Grams did. It was infuriating, actually, how good he was at this.

If he was surprised by her admission, he didn't show it. His expression remained the same—like someone had just compared his mother to a chizpurfle.

"What, not going to lord that over me?" she said, stirring her potion with a careful hand.

"Just make the potion."

Phoebe kept stirring, but didn't look away from him. He looked uncomfortable under her gaze.

"What?" he snapped.

"Nothing," she said, looking away to check the color of her potion. It was just the right shade of lavender. "Try to find something wrong with that," she said, triumphantly.

And Severus did try. He studied the color, consistency, and scent, but could find nothing wrong. "But the real proof is in the testing," he said. Obstinate, as always. They were working on antidotes, and Phoebe could hardly test her antidote.

"You going to poison me? Go ahead." She stuck her tongue out at him.

He looked disgusted. "Put that back in your mouth, Halliwell."

Phoebe giggled. "Halliwell? Really?"

Severus stared at her like he'd never seen someone laugh before.

"I mean, there are an awful lot of Halliwells hanging around Hogwarts," she went on, feeling cheerful. "You should be more specific."

His response, as it usually was, was to scowl. "We're done here." He walked over to the doorway, then paused. "You did well," he said, so quickly that Phoebe almost didn't catch it.

Phoebe was a little stunned. Severus had never given her a compliment before. The closest she'd gotten was "Well, it's not the worst potion I've ever seen." Perhaps Severus wasn't feeling quite himself. Phoebe shrugged and cleaned up the potions materials.

Rhiannon was waiting for her when she exited the classroom. In the past few weeks, she'd been acting a bit more like herself, but she was still gloomier than Phoebe had ever known her to be. "You need to talk to your sister," she said.

"Which one?"

"Paige. She snuck out to Hogsmeade today."

"Paige did? You're sure?"

Rhiannon nodded, grim. "That isn't like her, is it?"

"No." Paige was nearly a teenager, though. Was she getting a jumpstart on her rebellious teen years? Briefly, she imagined Paige acting like Phoebe had for so many years. The thought was unpleasant. "Oh. But it's my fault, isn't it? Did she take a secret passageway?"

"She did. You told her about that mirror?"

"Yes," Phoebe admitted. "Shouldn't have done that. But I never thought she'd actually use it."

"Well, she did," Rhiannon said. "Luckily for her, there were no demons around. These days, there are aurors in Hogsmeade, keeping watch."

"At least she's safe." Phoebe frowned, wondering if she should tell her mother or deal with the situation herself. She could sympathize with Paige's desire to leave the castle, but she knew how much danger they were in. Paige couldn't take such risks. "Do you think I should tell my mother?"

Rhiannon arched her eyebrow. "Phoebe Halliwell, snitching on her sister? I never thought I'd see the day."

"It's not snitching," Phoebe protested. "But I guess I won't. I just give her a warning. She'll listen to me. Where is she?"

"Gryffindor tower. I believe she's celebrating her adventure with her friends," Rhiannon said.

"Come on. This won't take long." They made their way up to the tower, where Rhiannon gave the password. Phoebe adopted a stern look, similar to the look Grams had often used on her.

Paige and her friends were in the common room, talking excitedly with each other.

"Paige," Phoebe said.

Paige looked up and went a little pale. "Hey, Pheebs," she said, clearly trying to be casual. But the guilt was clear on her face. Paige never was any good at deception. Quickly, her friends said goodbye and got out of there.

"I know what you did. I'm very disappointed that you would take such a huge risk," she said, this time using Prue as the inspiration for her I'm-the-big-sister-and-I'm-not-happy voice.

"Phoebe, I—" Then, her expression hardened, and she stuck her chin out. "It was just a bit of fun. What's the big deal?"

Phoebe had said those exact words too many times before. "Paige, this isn't like you," Phoebe said. "You put your life in danger."

"With all the teachers and the aurors hanging around, do you really think a demon could have gotten to me?" Paige looked at her sister with defiance written all over her face. "Besides, it's nothing you wouldn't have done yourself."

"Once," Phoebe said, firmly. "But now I realize that there's real danger out there. How many demons attacked us this summer? I know I lost track, there were so many. You got lucky this time, but next time, you might not."

Paige didn't say anything, but her pose hadn't changed. Phoebe wasn't getting through to her.

Phoebe sighed. "Just promise me you won't do it again."

"I won't," Paige said, but Phoebe didn't believe her.

"Let's go, Ray."

Once out in the hallway, Phoebe turned to Rhiannon. "Can you tell me what that was about?" she asked.

"I'm not sure, but you should keep an eye on her. Something seems… off."

Phoebe nodded. Maybe it was just normal bad behavior, but Phoebe had an uneasy feeling about this change in her sister. She was going to keep a very close eye on her.

-\

The kitchen in the Black house wasn't the most striking room, but it was becoming Prue's favorite room to be in. Mrs. Black never entered that room, relying on Kreacher to prepare her meals. Regulus had offered to make Kreacher prepare Prue's meals, but she had declined. She was perfectly capable of making her own food, and she didn't really trust Kreacher to not poison her.

Now that she didn't need a job to help support herself and Regulus, Prue had a lot of time on her hands. She tried to go out as often as possible, usually making up flimsy excuses to get out of the house. When she couldn't think of an errand to run, she often ended up in the kitchen. She'd taken up baking, a hobby that she enjoyed but wasn't very good at, as the current batch of burnt cookies attested to.

Prue waved her wand to clear the air of the smoke. "Great," she muttered to herself. She didn't understand what had gone wrong. She'd followed the directions exactly—but had the card said ten minutes or twenty? She checked, discovering that she'd overbaked the cookies by ten minutes.

Maybe she should quit this hobby and go to university instead. Her heart leapt at the thought of going back to school, but she kept putting off her application. She felt caught between her dreams before she'd learned about magic and the life she now lived, in the magic world. What she really wanted was to study photography, but her dream seemed frivolous when she thought of her responsibilities in the magical world.

Kreacher chose that moment to walk in. Prue tried to ignore him as he muttered to himself about blood purity and his poor mistress. She'd tried being nice to him, but he'd been unresponsive. Ignoring him was the best she could do.

Prue was thinking about getting some other job when she felt something on her arm. She looked down to discover a spider as big as a dinner plate clinging to her arm. She screamed and threw it off, backing away from it. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the plate of cookies. They were moving.

Slowly, Prue turned her head. Where the cookies had once been, there was a pile of writhing spiders, each one as big as the one she'd thrown across the room. And they all seemed to have their beady little eyes fixed on her.

Kreacher cackled as Prue ran to the door, the spiders giving chase. "_Confringo_!" Most of the spiders were thrown back, allowing Prue to get on the other side of the door. She could hear the huge spiders scuttling around the kitchen. Summoning her courage, Prue threw the door open. "_Stupefy_! _Finite incantatem_!" The spiders froze in place, then obediently turned back into cookies.

Prue rounded on Kreacher, who was still laughing.

"The mudblood witch was so scared of Kreacher's spiders," he said.

"You know Regulus is going to be furious," she said. Even after that, Prue didn't wish the house elf harm, but she hoped the comment might worry Kreacher a little.

Kreacher shook his head. "Master Regulus doesn't know what's best for him."

"Did Mrs. Black tell you to do this?"

Kreacher just stared at her. He was under no obligation to answer her question, as she knew.

"If she thinks that's going to get me to leave, she is seriously underestimating me," Prue said. "You tell her that."

"Kreacher doesn't take orders from the mudblood." The elf defiantly crossed his arms.

"Fine." Prue left the room and got her cloak. No way was she staying in that house while Regulus was out.

It felt good to be out on the streets of London, even though it was overcast and gloomy outside. At least she didn't have to worry about being attacked by spiders. Demons and warlocks were another story, and Prue was alert for any sign of trouble.

Her mother had recommended she stay at the Black house as much as possible, for her own protection. Prue doubted the house was protected from evil, though; more likely, it had an invisible welcome mat for demons. The library was so full of ancient, evil texts that Prue hadn't set foot in there after her initial visit. Regulus had warned her that there were dark objects all over the house. Probably, Prue was safer out on the streets than in that horrible house.

Regulus had promised her that things would change in the house. They'd dispose of the dark objects and turn the Black house into a welcoming home. Prue wasn't so sure that could be done. It felt like evil saturated the walls and floors of the house, and that it couldn't ever be scrubbed away.

Though Prue was unhappy with their new life, she was pleased that Regulus had gotten a job at the Ministry, as he'd wished. With his father dead, Regulus was no longer being blacklisted, and now he was assistant to the something-or-other of the something department. It sounded a lot more impressive when Regulus said it.

Prue let out a long breath. How long could Mrs. Black keep fighting her? Not forever. And despite what Regulus had said, maybe Mrs. Black would change her mind about Prue once she got to know her. Regulus had changed; maybe his mother could too.

By the time Prue turned to go back to the house, she was feeling a bit better. She'd put up with plenty of trouble from her sisters. How much worse could Mrs. Black be?


	28. A Vision

Piper cast a wary glance around the room. "What's happening here?" She'd shown up for her lesson with her mother at the usual time, only to find everyone was already there. Prue, for some reason, was also there. Normally, Piper would be happy to see her sister, but today, she was suspicious.

"Intervention," James said.

"It's not an intervention," Patty said, walking toward Piper. "We're just concerned about you."

"You've got to take those mittens off," Phoebe said. "For one thing, they're ridiculous. For another, you can't keep avoiding your power. It's really awesome."

"It's not awesome," Piper said. "It's dangerous."

"So is my power, but I learned to control it," Prue said.

"I blew up mum!"

"She's a whitelighter," Lily said. "They can take it, believe me."

Sirius cleared his throat. "If I may, I have a suggestion."

"What is it?" Patty said.

"There's a room in the castle that might be of aid to Piper," he said.

James elbowed him. Sirius elbowed him back. A brief scuffle broke out, with James yelling, "Sirius, if you tell them about that room, so help me—"

Patty broke up the fight. "What room?"

"The Room of Requirement," Sirius said.

"Traitor."

"Shut it, James." Sirius removed himself from Patty's grip. "It's a room where anything you need will appear. Probably the best place for Piper to practice."

Piper was doubtful. "I don't know. How's that going to help?"

"You can practice on whatever you need to in there, without causing any real damage. It'll know what you need, and you won't need anyone helping you," Sirius explained. "No risk of hurting someone else."

Patty had a little smile on her face. "You're not the first to discover the Room of Requirement, you know."

James and Sirius stared. "You know about it?"

"I was once a student here, too," she said. "And I think that's a very good idea. I'll show Piper where it is after the lesson. Today we'll be working on summoning a patronus."

The patronus spell proved to be difficult for everyone. "_Expecto patronum_," Piper cast, thinking of the day her mother returned from the dead. Her wand emitted a few white wisps, but no patronus.

"Oh!" Paige said.

Piper looked over and saw that her younger sister had succeeded. A wolf, made of light, was padding through the air in front of her. Realizing what her patronus was, Paige blushed a little and avoided looking at Remus.

"Well done," Patty said. "Everyone else, keep trying."

By the end of the lesson, only Prue had also managed to produce a full patronus, a husky dog. Patty told them they'd try again next week, then orbed Piper to the Room of Requirement. "Here we are," Patty said, as a door materialized in front of them.

"What's going to be in there?" Piper asked.

"Let's find out," Patty said, opening the door.

There wasn't much in the room. In one corner, there was what looked like a small cannon. Along one wall, there several mannequins. That was it.

Piper cautiously approached the cannon. "What do you suppose this is for?"

"I'm sure it's to practice with moving objects. Well, good luck, dear." Patty orbed out, leaving Piper to her task.

As soon as she was gone, the cannon went off, shooting a ball into the air. Piper jumped, throwing her hands up in the air. She'd finally taken off her mittens, so her power worked, freezing the ball.

Piper examined the frozen ball. It had been a long time since she'd frozen something, and it felt really good. "Okay, here we go," Piper said to herself and waved her hands. The ball exploded, but that's what she wanted. The cannon fired off another shot, and Piper exploded the ball midair. She then began to alternate between freezing and exploding the balls. She still sometimes froze when she meant to explode the ball or exploded the ball when she meant to freeze it, but her aim was getting better.

When she was feeling good about her aim, she moved on to the mannequins. She aimed at the hand of the first mannequin. She was disappointed when she missed, blowing up the mannequin next to the one she was aiming for, but she tried not to get discouraged. By the time she decided to leave the room, she was hitting her target every time.

She exited the room, finally taking off her mittens. Maybe it was time to retire these.

* * *

"What are you doing, Paige?" Piper asked.

"Just writing," Paige said. Though she'd told herself she'd only write to Tom once more, she'd found herself returning to the diary again and again. She'd mostly lost interest in figuring out how the diary worked. Whatever spells were behind the diary, they were probably too complex for Paige to understand, anyway. Now, she wrote to Tom because of the things he told her. He'd told her about the Chamber of Secrets, which had half-scared her to death.

_What happened to the creature?_ she asked, anxiously.

_I don't know. It's probably still out there, somewhere._

There was just one problem. _Hagrid never meant to hurt anyone. I know him. He meant well._

_I imagine so, but he brought a dangerous creature into Hogwarts._

Paige considered closing the diary and setting it aside so that she could think about what Tom had told her, but she couldn't. She was finding it harder to put down the diary once she picked it up now, actually, and it was becoming worrying. Yet she kept coming back to it.

_Are you sure Hagrid did it?_

_Of course. I saw the creature myself. Would you like to see?_

Paige considered what Tom might mean, but decided to throw caution to the wind. _Yes._

Suddenly, Paige felt like the whole world was tipping over. She closed her eyes, and when the world rebalanced, she opened them to find herself in the castle, but not in the room she shared with her sisters. A handsome young man and a young Hagrid were standing before her.

"Hagrid," she said in surprise, but he didn't respond.

The young man spoke, and Paige began to realize what was happening. "I'm going to have to turn you in," the young man said. This was a memory, of the moment when Tom had confronted Hagrid. It played out exactly as Tom had described it, only now Paige got to see the creature that Tom had told her about. It darted out quickly, but she caught sight of eight hairy legs.

"Paige? Paige!"

She felt someone shaking her, and then she was back in her room.

"What happened to you?" Piper said, frowning with worry. "You were in a trance or something."

"I'm fine," Paige said. "Just spaced out a little."

Piper didn't look satisfied with this answer. "You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Piper returned to her bed, still casting worried glances at Paige.

Paige knew she couldn't trust the diary entirely, but it was hard to reject Tom's story now that she had seen it. She knew Hagrid loved even the most dangerous of magical creatures, and she could imagine him unleashing a dangerous arachnid on Hogwarts.

She thought about talking to Hagrid about what had happened, but immediately rejected the thought. Surely Hagrid felt awful about what had happened, if the story was true. She shouldn't bring up such painful memories for him.

Perhaps there was someone else who could tell her about the Chamber of Secrets. She could ask her mother, or Grams. They'd know the truth about what had happened.

Paige closed the diary and set it aside, telling herself, as she had before, that she wasn't going to go back to it. She knew, though, that she'd come back again, to hear more from Tom about his days at Hogwarts.

* * *

Kira stood at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, thinking of the times she'd entered to meet with Sullivan. No one would be there to meet her now, if she entered. Or at least, she hoped.

Not that she planned to enter the forest. She knew what kind of dark creatures dwelled in the forest, and she was not eager to meet any of them.

She didn't know, really, why she was out on the Hogwarts grounds in the middle of the night. She'd woken up in the Hufflepuff dorm, gasping for air after a nightmare about Voldemort finally finding her. She knew she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep, so she'd left the dorm, feeling stifled in the castle. Out in the cool October air, she felt like she could breathe again.

It was just a nightmare, not a vision of the future. Kira was safe here at Hogwarts. She told herself this, repeatedly.

But how long would it be before Voldemort got to her? How long could she keep up this lie, hiding behind Luke and all the others who were protecting her? What if Voldemort found a way to reveal her as a demon, letting the light side vanquish her?

Kira shivered. She'd gone over those questions probably a hundred times before. She was a seer, and yet she had no idea what was going to happen to her. It wasn't unusual; seers rarely could predict their own deaths. She knew, though, that she would die. Voldemort would never let a traitor live. Even if it took years, he would find her and kill her.

So what could she do in the meantime? She wanted to do as much good as she could, but how was she going to do that? She'd helped Phoebe and Sirius any way she could, hinting to them about demons who were loyal to Voldemort. She'd told them not to trust certain people, who she knew to be Death Eaters. But Voldemort had never revealed much information to her that she could share with the light side. She didn't know how to kill him; she only knew that he was no ordinary warlock, and that a simple vanquishing spell wouldn't kill him.

Could she find a way to defeat him? She could try, at least. She'd never gotten a vision of Voldemort's future, but she could try.

She headed back to the castle. The sun was starting to rise. She'd only have a few hours alone to try to summon a vision. It wouldn't be easy, and she seriously doubted it would work. But she ignored her doubts and settled down in the Hufflepuff common room, clearing her mind of all thoughts and focusing on her power.

For a long time, nothing happened. Then, quite suddenly, she was in the vision. She was standing in the Great Hall, surrounded by a swarm of Death Eaters and demons. At the head table, where Dumbledore normally sat, Voldemort now sat. "Hogwarts is ours!" he cried.

The scene changed quickly from one image to another. Students running from demons, who threw energy balls after them. Teachers fighting off Death Eaters. Sirius fighting a demon, with James and Remus at his side. Lily fighting. But where were the Charmed Ones?

The next image brought the answer to that question. The Charmed Ones, including Prue, in a crystal cage. Trapped, as Hogwarts fell to evil. But demons didn't use crystal cages. Only witches did.

The vision released her and she sat, frozen, for a moment. She had no idea when the attack was going to take place, but it felt like there was no time to waste. Kira quickly got to her feet and made her way to the headmaster's office as fast as her feet could carry her. She was almost too flustered by her vision to pick up on the password to Dumbledore's office, but she gasped, "Skittles!" and was let in.

"Professor!" she yelled as she raced through Dumbledore's office to his private quarters. She paused at the door, not wanting to burst in on him but feeling the urgency of the situation.

The door opened. Dumbledore looked calm, not like he'd just been woken up at an ungodly hour by a screaming student.

"Professor, I'm sorry," Kira panted. "I had a vision. Hogwarts is in danger. I saw him—Voldemort. And the Charmed Ones, they were trapped."

"Rhiannon," Dumbledore said. "Take a moment to compose yourself."

Kira took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment. "Voldemort is going to take over Hogwarts. I don't know how it happens, but I saw him with his followers in the Great Hall. The Charmed Ones were trapped in a crystal cage."

Dumbledore nodded. "I believe you, Miss Williams. We'd better wake the Charmed Ones and get this sorted out."

It was a more decent hour of the morning by the time the three Halliwell sisters, Patty, Professor Halliwell, McGonagall, Dumbledore, and Kira were all gathered in the headmaster's office.

"Do you know when this will happen?" McGonagall asked.

Kira shook her head. "But it felt soon. Within a few weeks."

"And you're sure it was a crystal cage?" Professor Halliwell said.

"Yes, I'm sure. I don't understand why, though."

Professor Halliwell frowned. Clearly, she didn't understand why either. Why wouldn't the Charmed Ones be fighting the demons?

There were many questions brought up by Kira's vision. "Do you know how the protection of Hogwarts is broken?" Patty asked.

"No," Kira said, feeling a bit useless. "I could try for another vision, but I can't guarantee anything."

Everyone remained silent as Kira tried to get another vision. But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't see anything more. "I'm sorry," she said.

"We'll increase the protection on the castle," McGonagall said. "We can call in aurors, too."

Kira didn't think that would help very much, but she didn't say anything.

"Of course," Dumbledore said. "Perhaps the Charmed Ones should perform a protection spell, as well. They are deeply connected to Hogwarts; their spell should help a great deal."

"I'll get Prue," Patty said, orbing out.

Prue appeared with her mother a few moments later, looking a bit confused but also focused. The moment she appeared, Kira started to get a bad feeling. Something was wrong here.

Professor Halliwell composed a quick protection spell. "We'll try something more complex later," she said, handing the sheet of parchment to Prue.

The sisters gathered. "Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Slytherin, we witches four call your power. Come to us now, in the hour. Rise, o ancient guardians, rise to protect this place. Rise, o ancient guardians, rise to protect this space."

The entire castle began to shake, and a blinding light surrounded the Charmed Ones. Kira watched them until she could no longer look, covering her eyes. She was sure the castle was going to fall to rubble.

But then, it stopped. Kira lowered her hand. The Charmed Ones were unchanged, as far as she could tell.

"What was that?" Phoebe asked.

"It seems the spell has connected you four to the castle itself," Dumbledore said. "Hogwarts is now protected by the Power of Four."

Kira should have felt reassured by this, but she still felt a gnawing sense of dread. Something wasn't quite right with the Charmed Ones, but she couldn't put her finger on what had changed in them. Perhaps they shouldn't have connected Hogwarts's protection to the sisters.

Kira thought about saying something, but she had no evidence to back up her feelings. So she remained silent as everyone went to action. She hoped, desperately, that she was wrong about the sisters.


	29. Just a Little Crush

**A/N: Another update! And another chapter will be up soon, I just have to polish it.**

**AzNeRd: I'm a big Piper/Leo fan, but in this story, she's a little too young to be with him. I have been toying with an idea for a sequel that would take place when she's old enough to be with Leo, but I'm not sure if I'll pursue that idea or not. Thank you for reviewing.**

Despite all that Rhiannon had seen, things went on normally at Hogwarts. Piper and Phoebe took lessons with Leo while Paige went to classes. None of the other students were informed of what Rhiannon had seen, and the sisters were strictly forbidden to speak of Rhiannon's vision.

Phoebe felt a little more secure now that the Power of Four was protecting Hogwarts. Their sisterly bonds were strong, so the protection surrounding Hogwarts had to be strong as well. Perhaps now Voldemort wouldn't be able to break into the castle. Rhiannon still looked worried, though, whenever Phoebe was with her. She kept asking how Phoebe felt, how her magic felt. Phoebe didn't feel any different, as she told Rhiannon, and she couldn't really tell how her magic felt. It was just there.

Phoebe was still afraid of an attack, but after they had performed a fifth protection spell on Hogwarts, this one with potions, she didn't feel in immediate danger. She relaxed somewhat, though she was always on guard.

A week went by without any interesting events. Paige was still acting up, but Phoebe concluded that the change in her was probably hormonal, nothing to worry about. Piper had finally abandoned her mittens, and could reliably freeze or blow up things at will.

If it weren't for Rhiannon's vision, Phoebe would think that things were pretty good at Hogwarts. She wasn't even dreading her potions lesson with Severus today.

The potion they were working on required particular attention to detail, and Phoebe felt up to the challenge. She'd reviewed the potion thoroughly beforehand, as she always did before her lessons with Severus.

Severus greeted her with a nod. "You're prepared?"

"Of course," she said, easily.

He motioned for her to begin, and she gathered the ingredients for the potion and began to prepare them.

She was slicing the galangal root when Severus said, "Wait," and slid behind her, placing his hands over hers. "Like this," he said, right into her ear as he manipulated her hands to show her a better way to slice the root.

He was gone an instant later and was explaining why cutting that way was better. She didn't hear a word he said. All she could hear was her heart pounding in her ears. She could still feel his hands on hers.

Phoebe stumbled through the potion, prompting Severus to ask what was wrong with her. Phoebe didn't know what to say, so she didn't say anything. He'd never touched her before, and she was startled by how warm his hands had been, how gentle his touch had been. She'd never really thought about being touched by Severus, but she would have expected him to be cold and rough.

She was relieved when she finally got the potion done to Severus's satisfaction. She fled to her room, grabbing some books and heading to the library. Doing some work would set her mind straight.

She had an essay to write about History, and she eagerly got to work, filling her mind with dates and names and places, displacing all thoughts of Severus and his hands.

Phoebe must have been there for hours. By the time she became aware of her pangs of hunger, she'd gotten caught up on all her work. She hadn't quite managed to get Severus out of her mind, though, and her hands kept tingling. She rubbed them, absently.

In the Great Hall, she sat down with Rhiannon. Ray greeted her, then looked at her very carefully.

"What?" she asked, nervously.

"There's something about you," Rhiannon said.

Phoebe looked away, hoping the loss of eye contact would make it harder for Rhiannon to read her. It proved to be a mistake, as her gaze immediately landed on Severus. He looked at her; she stared back.

"Oh, I see," Rhiannon murmured.

Phoebe looked back at her friend. "What? What do you see?" She picked up her tea, trying to act nonchalant as she sipped.

"You like Severus," Rhiannon said, singsong.

Phoebe managed to shoot hot tea out of her nose while making sounds of violent disagreement. That made for an interesting trip to a hospital wing. As Madam Pomfrey clicked her tongue and said, "Well! I thought I'd seen it all," Phoebe glared at Rhiannon. What an absurd thing to say! How could she like Severus, when he was so intolerable? Admittedly, he had improved somewhat now that Phoebe wasn't completely hopeless at potions, but he was still a rude, obnoxious boy. She didn't like him. She couldn't explain exactly why she felt so odd during her lesson with Severus, but that wasn't the reason.

Phoebe was unusually studious the following week. If she let her mind wander, it would inevitably go back to Rhiannon's comment. So she read and wrote essays and most certainly did not think of one Severus Snape.

The week passed with shocking speed. It had just been Monday, how was it now Friday? Phoebe tried her best to focus in her lessons with Leo, but it was impossible. She kept thinking of the lesson she'd have to take with Severus, the next day. Maybe she could pretend to be ill. She could tell Grams she couldn't go. Grams would understand; for the first time, her grandmother actually trusted her.

But this was ridiculous. She didn't have feelings for Severus, so there was no reason to avoid having a lesson with him. Phoebe felt silly for worrying about the lesson. Clearly, Rhiannon was getting to her, making her believe things that weren't true.

The next day, she entered the potions classroom feeling perfectly fine. "Hello, Severus," she said. "Another antidote today?"

"No," he said. "I thought we'd try one you haven't had a chance to study. I want to see if you remember the skills I've taught you."

It was like they were normal people, having a civil conversation. Once, Severus would have thrown an ugly look at her the moment she greeted him. Now, he didn't look at her like she was an inferior being, but like she was just another person.

She wasn't used to this new Severus, who didn't speak condescendingly to her or constantly insult her intelligence. It threw her to work with him like an equal, but she forced herself to focus. She didn't want to ruin his good mood by messing up.

"Very good," he said, when she diverged from the book's instructions on how to cut the rehmannia, flattening the root with the blade of her knife before cutting it. She recalled from Severus's previous lesson on rehmannia that it was best to get the juices out before cutting the root.

"Thanks," she said, and was mortified at the way her voice came out—soft and shy, like she was flirting or something. She cleared her throat and avoided looking at Severus.

Did Severus always stand this close to her? "So," Phoebe said, uncomfortable with the sudden silence, as well as Severus's closeness. "What do you like, other than potions?"

"Why do you want to know?"

Phoebe chanced a look at him. Suspicion was clear in his expression.

"Just making conversation," Phoebe said. "I mean, I've been taking lessons with you forever, and I hardly know anything about you. Do you like Quidditch?"

"I despise Quidditch."

"Oh." Phoebe frowned, pausing in her preparation of the sweet flag. She didn't know much about other wizard hobbies, having grown up in the muggle world. "Are you muggleborn?" Realizing how that might sound, she hurriedly added, "Not that that's a bad thing. I'm half-blood, myself."

"I'm not muggleborn," he replied, stiffly.

Obviously, not a good line of conversation. "Why'd you agree to do these lessons?" she asked, honestly curious. "My grandmother said you didn't have to."

"Why do you care?"

"Why do you have to be so contrary?" she countered, sensing the tension grow between them.

"I'm not contrary."

"Then give me a straight answer." Phoebe turned away from her potion to face him, crossing her arms.

"No," Severus said. "It's none of your business."

"See, you could have just said that," Phoebe said. "And I'll move on."

"Just do the damn potion, Halliwell."

Phoebe went back to her potion for a few minutes. "Talking to you is like pulling teeth," she said, after a short silence. "Is it really so awful to talk to me?"

"Yes," he said, curtly.

"You're such a liar," she said.

Severus didn't say anything, letting his stony silence be his response.

"Fine, don't talk to me." Phoebe felt a little juvenile saying that, but it was annoying that he wouldn't have a conversation with her. Phoebe was a likable person, especially now that she had adjusted her attitude. Why wouldn't Severus give her a chance?

But then, why did she care? She was just here to improve her potions skills, not make friends with Severus. It shouldn't hurt her that he didn't want to talk to her.

Phoebe opened her mouth to say something, but closed it, realizing she didn't know what she wanted to say. All she knew was she was feeling annoyed and hurt for no reason, and Severus was to blame.

"God, you're so—" she blurted.

"So what, Halliwell?"

"I don't even know," she finished, lamely. "Infuriating. You're infuriating."

"You're one to talk," he sniped back.

Phoebe turned toward him, meaning to say something wounding. But he was much closer to her than she had expected, and she felt her angry words melt away. "Um," she said, and then took a step toward him. They were so close she could feel the heat from his body. Oh God, what the hell was she doing? "Um," she said again, and reached her hand up to touch his face.

He jerked away before she could touch him. He stared, wide-eyed, at her. "What are you doing?" he said. There was an edge of hysteria to his voice. It was strangely endearing.

"I don't know," she said, and laughed. "Just let me…" She tried to touch him again, but again he stepped away.

"Stop," he said, so she did. For a moment they just looked at each other.

Phoebe felt like she was going to die if she didn't do something, but she kept still, waiting for Severus to make the first move.

Suddenly, the door to the room opened, and Grams entered. "Ah, Phoebe, Severus," Grams said. "I've just come to mark some papers. Don't mind me."

Severus practically ran to the door and disappeared down the hall.

Grams raised an eyebrow. "Was it something I said?"

* * *

"So is this a regular camera, or a soul-stealing, monstrously evil camera?" Prue asked, holding said camera with both hands. As a precaution, they were both wearing charmed gloves.

Regulus tapped the camera with his wand. "Regular camera," he said, so Prue snapped a picture of him. "Hey," he protested. "Get back to work, you."

Prue picked up a small globe that went black when she touched it. "What about this?"

"Ah, that." Regulus took the globe from her and tossed it in a bag of rubbish. "For detecting muggle blood. I think one of my great uncles invented it. As the story goes, he claimed it didn't work when it turned black in his hands. Of course, that didn't stop the family from disowning him."

"There's muggle blood in your family?" Prue said, surprised.

"Of course," he said. "It's the big secret all the pureblood families pretend they don't know. Purebloods would have died out long ago if they hadn't interbred with muggles."

Prue thought this over. "So why do they insist on blood purity?"

"They need a reason to feel superior to everyone else," Regulus explained. "We'll try to get the grandfather clock next."

"Why on earth did your father bring that into the house, anyway?" Prue said, following Regulus to the room where the grandfather clock was stored.

Regulus pushed the door open cautiously, standing to the side. "I don't think it was activated before he died. I suspect mother turned it on."

A bolt shot out of the room, hitting the wall behind them. Regulus pointed his wand in the room and cried, "_Finite incantatem_!" before ducking out of the way.

Prue waved her hand in the doorway, retracting it just before another bolt shot out. "Anything of value in that room?" Prue asked.

"Not that I know of." Regulus eyed her. "What are you thinking?"

"Blast it."

Regulus sighed. "All right. Have your fun."

"_Confringo_!"

There was a small explosion, but when Prue peeked in the room, the clock was still standing. "Still there. Maybe we should have Piper try to blow it up," she said.

"Maybe," Regulus agreed. "_Desino_!"

They tried a few more spells, but ultimately abandoned the clock for another day. They ended up in library. The first book Prue picked up tried to bite her. She threw it at the wall, and it whimpered when it landed. "I don't feel bad for you at all," she said to it.

Several of the books, actually, were biters—but only when Prue touched them.

"They must be charmed to recognize people who aren't Blacks," Regulus said, taking one of the biters from her. It didn't attack him.

Prue scowled at the stacks of books. "Well, I'm not touching any more of them," she said, and resorting to levitating them off the shelves. She was surprised that Mrs. Black hadn't come by to scream at them about defiling the Black house or something like that. Regulus certainly wasn't treating these books very kindly; most of them, he was setting on fire. Why wasn't she throwing a fit?

Some of the books refused to move from the shelves, even when Regulus touched them. "Mother's spells, I'm sure. She's probably trying to save the worst of them."

Prue definitely didn't try to touch those books. "I bet your mother's spells aren't as strong as the Power of Four. I'll bring my sisters over some time so that we can try to undo her spells."

Regulus picked out a book that screamed when he opened it. "Merlin's sake," he muttered and tossed it to the side.

A lot of the books held unpleasant surprises. One started bleeding when it was picked up. Another opened by itself and began to pour out insects. "What the hell," Prue said. "Why would anyone make a book that bleeds?"

Regulus shrugged. "Dark objects do some strange things."

They took a break when they were halfway through the books. Prue sat down by the window, feeling worn out. Getting rid of the dark objects in this house was proving to be an exhausting task.

She felt something tickling at her shoulder, and she turned her head, thinking of the spiders. But it was only the curtain, blowing in the wind. Prue blinked. The window was closed.

Suddenly, the curtain wrapped around Prue's neck and started choking her. "Reg!" she gasped, as the curtain tightened.

"_Diffindo_!" The curtain was severed, and Prue sucked in lungfuls of air. Regulus was at her side immediately, swearing.

"I told you!"

Prue looked up to see Mrs. Black standing in the doorway.

"Mother, you did this?" Regulus said. "You've gone too far this time."

"I told her, the very walls would turn against her," Mrs. Black said, triumphantly. "And so they have."

"The house isn't turning against her," Regulus said, advancing on his mother. "You did something."

"I only awoke the spirit of the house," Mrs. Black said. "It doesn't want her here."

"What have you done, mother?"

Mrs. Black grinned maniacally. "I told you. I've woken the house to the threat within it."

"An intruder spell?"

Mrs. Black shook her head. "Oh, no, son. Nothing so simple as that."

"Mother, you will tell me what you've done," Regulus said, raising his wand.

"You threaten your own mother?" Mrs. Black hissed. "_Expelliarmus_!"

"_Protego_!"

"_Depello_!"

Regulus was thrown across the room. Prue used her power to send Mrs. Black's wand flying out of her hand. "_Ruere_," she said, pointing at Mrs. Black's wand. It shattered, and Mrs. Black screamed in rage.

Prue raced over to help Regulus up. "Are you all right?"

"Fine." He turned on his mother. "Are you happy now? You've lost your wand, and you won't be getting another."

"It doesn't matter," Mrs. Black said. "I've done what's most important." With that, she left the room.

Prue anxiously looked around, trying to spot any potential attackers. "What do you think she did?"

"I'm not sure, but I think you should stay at your grandmother's house for a while," Regulus said.

The carpet tripped her up twice as she went up to pack a bag. The stairs bucked as she went down.

"Hold on tight," Regulus said and apparated them to the Manor.

The house was silent, as Prue had expected, but welcoming. Nothing, other than demons, would try to attack her here.

"I'm going to fix this, Prue. I promise you."

Prue wasn't so sure, but she nodded.

"You'll be all right alone?"

"Of course," Prue said. "Go on."

Regulus disapparated, and Prue went upstairs to her old room. It was pretty much unchanged. She sat on the bed, contemplating what had just happened. She didn't like staying in the Black house, but she was angry that Mrs. Black had managed to kick her out. She wanted to be with Regulus, even if he was in a house that she didn't like.

She sighed, looking at her suitcase. "This is only temporary," she told herself, taking out her things. She would return to the Black house, somehow.


	30. I Want to be Bad

**A/N: Thank you to TwilightCharmedFaie and AzNeRd for reviewing.**

Prue flipped to the next to last section in the spell book, which focused on intruder spells. Mrs. Black had said that the spell she had used wasn't anything as simple as an intruder spell, but she wanted to check just in case she was lying.

Mrs. Black wasn't a Wiccan witch, so she couldn't have made up her own spell. The spell she used already existed, somewhere, and Prue was going to find it.

After an hour of studying intruder spells, she moved on to spells that would awaken an inanimate object. Mrs. Black said she had awoken the spirit of the house. What could that mean?

Perhaps the original spell didn't even matter. Prue gave up on trying to locate the spell Mrs. Black had used and focused her energies instead on writing a countercurse. She'd call her mother when the spell was ready and see if her sisters were available to do a Power of Four spell.

Without the original spell to use as a guide, she had some trouble writing the countercurse. She considered Mrs. Black's words carefully as she wrote. After some time, she produced a spell that she hoped would work.

_This house is not a home_

_A restless spirit rules here_

_And while this spirit roams_

_I will find only fear._

_Bring peace to the Black spirit,_

_Deliver it to sleep,_

_Make this place a home_

_One that I may keep._

She hoped this would work. Prue called her mother, who appeared in the living room.

Patty looked around. "What are you doing at the Manor?"

"The Black house kicked me out," Prue explained. "I'm going to try a spell to make it accept me. Could you get my sisters?"

"Of course." Patty orbed out, returning with Prue's sisters.

"What's up?" Piper asked.

Prue gave them a summary of what had happened.

Piper gaped. "The curtains tried to kill you?"

"Afraid so. We'll have to be extra careful once we're there. I'm not sure the house will take too kindly to you three either," Prue said.

"I'll stay with you while you do the spell," Patty said, then orbed them to the Black house. Mrs. Black, fortunately, wasn't around. The walls groaned a little, but nothing tried to attack.

"Let's make this quick," Prue said. The sisters gathered around Prue's paper and read the spell together. The house gave a sigh, but nothing else happened.

"Think it worked?" Phoebe said.

"Let's see." Prue went over to a window and touched the curtains. They stayed still in her hands. She walked around a bit, trying the stairs. They didn't buck, as they had last time. "I think the house is at peace."

Patty looked worriedly around. "Just be careful here. And call me if anything happens." She then orbed out, with Prue's sisters.

"Prue?" Regulus descended the stairs. "I heard chanting. Have you done something to the house?"

Prue nodded. "I think I fixed it. Nothing's attacked me yet."

Regulus smiled. "Thank Merlin. I missed having you around."

"I've missed you too."

They embraced, Prue resting her head on Regulus's chest. She'd only been away a few days, but it had felt much longer. All she wanted was to be with Regulus. Why did it have to be so hard?

"Prue," Regulus said. "There's something I've been meaning to ask you, and I guess this is as good a time as any other."

Prue pulled back, smiling. "And what's that?"

She didn't expect him to go down on one knee. "Oh no," she said. "Don't you even think of it."

"Prudence Halliwell, will you marry me?" He didn't present a ring to her, but she imagined he had one.

"Absolutely not," she said. "If your mother hates me now, just imagine how she'll feel if I marry you."

"My mother can't stop us from being together," Regulus said.

"But she's going to try. Look what she did to the house."

Regulus took her hand in his. "I believe our love is stronger than my mother's hatred."

That got to her. "I'll think about it," she said, struggling with herself. "But I'm probably not going to change my mind."

Regulus got to his feet. He knew, as well as she did, that they were going to get married, no matter what she said now. She was already thinking of a ceremony at the Manor. "Maybe you'll change your mind once you see the ring." He led her up to their room, where he got out a small box and opened it.

Prue couldn't help but laugh a little. "A black diamond? Really?" It was huge, and of course it was beautiful. "A family ring, I'm assuming."

"Yes. Do you like it?"

"It's all right," she said, tempted to try it on.

"I'm serious about this, Prue," Regulus said. "I want to marry you, and I don't care what my mother thinks."

Prue was quiet. The thought of marrying Regulus made her feel dizzy, in a good way. But she knew that there were going to be complications if she became a member of the Black family. Grams wouldn't be happy, for one thing, and Mrs. Black would be enraged. Both sides of their family would fight this. Even after they were married, Prue knew she would have responsibilities to deal with as a Black wife.

But she held out her hand. "All right," she said. "Let's try this."

* * *

Phoebe paced back and forth, her heart pounding. Severus wasn't here yet. He was never late, but he hadn't shown up yet. She looked at the door to the classroom, willing it to open. It didn't. Phoebe let out a slow breath and continued pacing.

She kept telling herself that everything was going to be fine, that they'd just pretend that nothing had happened. But Phoebe wasn't sure that she wanted to pretend that nothing had happened. Something had happened, or had almost happened. It had changed things—she was pretty sure. All things considered, Phoebe was very confused and anxious to talk to Severus.

The door opened, and Phoebe jumped a foot in the air. "Severus, finally," she said.

Severus walked past her and snapped open a potions text. "Let's get started," he said.

Phoebe stared at him. So he was going to act like nothing happened, as she had thought. She could go along with this, pretend that she wasn't still thinking about what had happened, or hadn't happened, last week.

"No," she said. "We're not going to do it like this."

Severus didn't look at her, instead staring down at the table in front of him. His hands were curled into fists. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he said, carefully.

Phoebe wanted to curse at him, but she didn't. "Severus," she said, as calmly as she could manage. "We are going to talk about what happened."

"Nothing happened."

"Exactly! But something could have happened. And I—" She stopped, wondering if she had the courage to say this. "I think I wanted it to happen."

Severus still didn't look at her. Phoebe waited for him to say something, and when he didn't, she strode over to him and turned him around.

His expression was impossible to read, but Phoebe could guess at what he was feeling. "What are you so afraid of?" she said.

"I'm not afraid," Severus insisted.

"Yes you are," Phoebe said. "I sort of am, too."

They stared at each other, as they had last week. "Will you just kiss me already?" she said, impatient and nervous about what she hoped was about to happen.

Severus's eyes went comically wide. "I'm not going to kiss you, Halliwell."

"You were about to last week," she said.

"I was not," he said, a hint of petulance in his voice. "You really think you're so beautiful that every male must want you?"

"No," she retorted. "But you have to admit there's something between us."

"I don't have to admit anything," Severus said.

Phoebe was so frustrated she almost wanted to stamp her feet like a child. "God, why can't you admit that you like me?"

"Because I don't!"

Phoebe narrowed her eyes. "Oh really?" If there was one thing Phoebe was good at, it was turning boys into clay in her hands. "So this doesn't affect you at all?" She cupped her hand over his cheek. He flinched away.

"Of course not," he said.

"Then stay still," Phoebe said. "You're telling me"—she ran her fingers down his throat, along his pulse point—"this doesn't make you feel something?" She pressed her hand to his chest, her fingers spread, and leaned forward to speak softly into his ear. "You don't like this, Severus?" she murmured.

He pushed her away. "I'm not one of those idiots you can manipulate," he said, but he was slightly flushed, and Phoebe could recognize the desire in his eyes.

"I never said you were," Phoebe replied. "But I think you're feeling the same way I'm feeling, and I don't see the harm in pursuing this… thing between us."

"There's nothing between us," Severus said.

"But there could be," she said, softly.

"What, you think I'll be your boyfriend or something?" he sneered. "You think I'll bring you flowers and write poetry about your eyes?"

His words stung. "I don't know," she said. "It doesn't have to be like that."

"Look, why don't you just go crawling back to Potter and leave me out of this?" Severus said.

Phoebe laughed, derisively. "Is that what this is really about? Don't want James's leftovers?"

"No, I don't."

"You're acting like an idiot," she said. "I'm not his leftovers. And I went out with him for hardly even a week." She paused. "Strange, that you would fixate on that. Did it bother you, seeing him have me, when you couldn't?"

She'd turned the tables. She could see the anger in Severus's eyes that signaled that what she'd said had hurt him. Somehow, this had become less about them admitting their feelings and more about them wounding each other. Severus surged forward and grabbed her.

"You going to hit me? Going to hit a girl?" Phoebe said, waiting for the blow to come.

But it didn't. Instead, he brought his mouth to hers in a bruising kiss. Phoebe made a small sound, either of surprise or pleasure, she wasn't sure which. His tongue swiped over her bottom lip, demanding entry, and she let her mouth fall open. It was a rough kiss, full of want and anger and heat. It was more of a battle, really, than it was a kiss. Phoebe felt like there was fire in her blood, like she was alive for the first time.

She clung to him, her hands opening and closing on his robes reflexively. Somehow, he got his hands in her hair, pulling at it a little. It should have hurt, but it just made the fire in her blood flare.

He let go of her so fast that she almost dropped to the floor. Phoebe could see he was thinking about bolting, so she grabbed his arm.

"Don't even think about it," she said, and pulled him in for another kiss.

Her world narrowed to Severus and his talented mouth. It wasn't like being kissed by anyone else. This was demanding; they took and took from each other, never exhausting the well of each other's desire. Some time later—Phoebe wasn't sure how long—she stumbled out of the potions classroom, disheveled and lightheaded. She knew anyone who looked at her would know what she'd been up to, but she didn't care.

She didn't know exactly what this meant for them. She doubted this made them a couple in Severus's mind. She didn't even know if she wanted a relationship with Severus. He was still Severus, after all. But she decided she wasn't going to think too hard about this. She'd just let it happen.

* * *

Paige was screaming when Patty orbed Prue into the room her sisters shared.

"You can't take it, it's mine!"

"What's happening here?" Patty demanded.

Paige was holding on to one end of a small book. Piper had grabbed on to the other end.

"You're obsessed with this thing," Piper said, ignoring their mother. "Something's wrong with you."

"Let go of it!" Paige yanked, throwing Piper off balance. They both fell over and continued the fight over the book on the floor.

"Enough of this," Patty said. "Piper, just let go."

Piper obeyed her mother, reluctantly. Paige hugged the book to her chest, glaring at her sister.

"What is that, Paige?" Patty asked. "And where is Phoebe? I asked her to be here."

"It's my diary," Paige said.

"I think Phoebe's got a boyfriend or something," Piper said. "She's been disappearing all the time."

The portrait opened, and Phoebe came in, with a smile on her face and a dreamy look in her eye. There was what appeared to be a hickey on her neck. It looked like the boyfriend theory was right.

Patty frowned. "Phoebe, where have you been?"

"Studying," Phoebe chirped.

Prue snorted. "Sure. Look, I have some good news I wanted to share with all of you." She held up her hand, showing off her new engagement ring. "I'm engaged."

Her sisters broke out with congratulations and crowded around to hug her. Except Paige, who was still clutching her diary to her chest.

"Paige?" Prue took a step toward her sister, who flinched and hugged the diary tighter. She looked bad, like she hadn't been sleeping. Prue knelt down by her.

"You can't have it," Paige insisted.

"I'm not going to take it," Prue said. "I just want to know if you're all right."

"I'm fine."

Prue looked to Piper.

"She's been writing in it constantly," Piper said. "You sent it to her. Is there some kind of charm on it?"

"I didn't send it to her."

They all exchanged nervous glances. Prue got up and used her power to draw the diary out of Paige's arms. Paige shrieked and tried to grab it back, but Piper held her back.

Prue opened the diary. "It's blank," she said, flipping through the pages.

Suddenly, the diary grew hot in her hands. She dropped it, and a light burst out of the pages. Prue watched it, mesmerized. The light ended as suddenly as it had started, and Prue blinked and looked around. It didn't look like anything had happened.

"Girls, are you all right?" Patty asked.

"Yeah," Prue said. Her sisters nodded in agreement. "Actually, I feel really good."

"Me too," Phoebe said.

"Powerful," Piper added.

Prue could feel magic pulsing under her skin. She looked down at her hands, half-expecting them to be glowing with magic. But they looked normal.

"So, how'd Mrs. Black react to the good news?" Piper asked, as if their conversation hadn't been interrupted.

"Ugh, don't remind me of her," Prue said, grimacing. "You know, I've been thinking I might turn her into a cockroach."

Phoebe laughed. "Nice."

"Prue, you're not serious," Patty said. She looked concerned, like turning Mrs. Black into a cockroach was a bad thing.

"Oh, I am," Prue replied. "I think it'd suit her quite well."

"You can't just turn someone into a cockroach," Patty said.

"But I have a wand," Prue said, holding it up as evidence. "Why shouldn't I use it?"

"Girls, you're not yourselves," Patty said, in that annoying, all-knowing whitelighter tone. "I don't know what that book's done to you, but we're going to fix it."

"Fix it?" Piper said. "I don't think I want this to be fixed. I've never felt better."

"Yeah, mum, don't be such a wet blanket," Paige said.

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, their mother transformed into blanket, which, Prue found upon inspection, was wet.

"Huh," Prue said. "That was neat, Paige."

Paige beamed. "She won't be nagging us anymore."

"Sisters, I think we have some work to do here." Prue stepped over the wet blanket that was their mother, leading her sisters out of the portrait hole.


	31. The Battle Begins

**A/N: another chapter, why not. Again, thank you to AzNeRd and TwilightCharmedFaie for reviewing.**

James ducked automatically and got out his wand when portrait to the Gryffindor common room exploded.

"Ah, there you are." The four Charmed Ones strode into the room, each smiling eerily. "We've been looking all over for you," Prue said.

"You blew up the fat lady!" Sirius said, looking at the hole where the portrait had once been.

Piper glanced back. "Oh, no. She ran away before I got the chance. Seemed afraid of me. I can't imagine why."

James raised his wand. "Who the hell are you and what have you done with the Charmed Ones?"

Phoebe giggled. "James, don't be silly. It's us. We're the same as we always were, just a little… freer." She took a step toward him. He kept his wand steady. She sighed and looked to Prue, who flicked her wrist and sent his wand flying out of his hand.

"Mm, I'll take care of the others," Piper said. She froze Peter, then flicked her fingers at Remus and Sirius, causing an explosion that sent them flying backward through the air.

James dove for his wand, but Prue moved it before he could reach it.

"Enough of this," Phoebe said. "What was yours, now is mine. Let you power cross the line."

James felt the magic leave his body. He looked up at Phoebe, who had conjured a dagger. "Such a shame," she murmured, kneeling down next to him.

"_Stupefy_!"

Prue deflected Sirius's spell. He ducked down behind a couch before she could use her power on him. "Sirius," she said, impatiently. "We both know how this is going to end."

Phoebe had grabbed his wand and was now standing. James got to his feet as fast as he could and tackled her. They both went down, and he grabbed his wand from her.

Then, he was hitting the wall, hard.

"I am really starting to lose my cool," Prue growled. "_Petrificus totalus_!"

"_Protego_!" He threw himself behind the couch where Sirius and Remus were crouched.

"Possession?" Remus said.

"Maybe," James said. "Just try not to hurt them."

"Hurt _them_?" Sirius said. "They're trying to kill us!"

The couch exploded. The three boys came up shouting spells, which the sisters easily deflected. They threw spells back and forth at each other, but it was no use. Piper and Prue got their wands out of their hands, leaving them defenseless.

"You know, I was feeling bad about this," Phoebe said, stepping forward with a dagger in each hand. "But now? Not so much."

"_Stupefy_!" The spell hit Phoebe square in the back. She fell to the ground, and the remaining sisters turned around to face the person who had just entered. "_Experlliarmus_!"

Prue's wand flew out of her hand, and Sirius caught it, using it to stun Piper. "Ray! You're just in time," Sirius said. He disarmed Paige.

Prue used her power to throw Rhiannon into the wall. Sirius tried to stun her, but she deflected his spell. "I will not—"

But she didn't get to finish that sentence, because Rhiannon recovered and sent a stunning spell at her. Rhiannon got to her feet.

"You three all right?" she asked.

"Yeah, we're fine," Sirius said, grinning at her. "Brilliant job. How'd you know we needed you?"

"I'm a seer, remember?" Rhiannon walked over to the Charmed One's limp bodies. "They've been turned evil. Do you have any crystals?"

James ran up to their room to get the crystals. Back down in the common room, he formed a crystal cage around the sisters.

Rhiannon sighed. "Just like in my vision," she murmured to herself. She looked up at the boys. "I don't know what turned them evil, but we've got no time to waste. Voldemort is about to launch an attack on Hogwarts, and he's going to get in."

"That's impossible," James said. "Hogwarts is protected from evil."

"Not now," Rhiannon said. "Hogwarts's protection was connected to the Charmed Ones. Now that they're evil, the protection from dark forces is gone. I'm going to go check their room to see if I can find what turned them evil. You should call your whitelighter and get Dumbledore." She turned and left the room.

"Patty!" James called. She didn't appear. "Leo!" The whitelighter appeared in the room.

"What's up?" he asked. Then he noticed the crystal cage. "What did you do to them?"

"They've turned evil," Sirius said. "We just stunned them. Rhiannon said an attack is about to start on Hogwarts. And Patty isn't responding to our call."

Leo silently took this in, then nodded. "I'm going to go alert Dumbledore, and I'll check with the Elders to find out where Patty is. Keep an eye on them," he said, gesturing toward the Charmed Ones.

It was agony to just stand around, waiting for someone to tell them what was going on. After what seemed like forever, Rhiannon returned with a small book and a blanket.

"What's that?" Remus asked.

"This is Patty," Rhiannon said, holding up the blanket. "The book, I think, is what turned the girls evil. Look." She opened the book to a page where a name was written in faint ink.

"T. M. Riddle," Sirius read. "Who's that?"

"Tom Riddle is Voldemort," Rhiannon explained. "This must have been his. I don't know what it is, though. Can't seem to get any psychic impressions from it. But then, he probably put some serious spells on it. Whatever it is, it's very dark magic." She shuddered and put the book down. "Don't even want to touch it."

Remus touched the blanket, which Rhiannon had carefully placed on a chair. "This is Patty? Who did this to her?"

"Paige," Rhiannon said. "I tried to end the spell, but it's too strong for me. Hopefully, it'll wear off once the spell on the Charmed Ones ends."

At that moment, Leo appeared with Dumbledore. "The Elders can't find Patty," Leo said.

Rhiannon quickly explained the wet blanket and the book she had found.

Leo picked up the book, flipping through the blank pages. "Piper told me she was worried about Paige," he said. "She told me Paige had been writing obsessively in a diary. I'm guessing this is that diary."

"But where's the writing?" Rhiannon said. She took out her wand and tapped the diary, murmuring, "_Ostendo_." The pages remained blank.

"Maybe there's a password," James suggested, thinking of the Marauder's Map.

Rhiannon shook her head. "I don't think so. Anyone got a quill?"

James managed to locate his bag, which had spilled out its contents in the struggle. "Here."

Rhiannon thought for a while, then wrote her own name on the page. The words disappeared, to be replaced by someone else's writing.

_Hello, Rhiannon. _

Rhiannon bit her lip. "This isn't good," she said, more to herself than to anyone else. She looked up to Dumbledore. "Think it's like the Sorting Hat? He put a bit of himself in it?"

Dumbledore looked troubled. "Perhaps," he said. "But I think this may be more sinister than the Sorting Hat." He took the diary from Leo and considered it, for a long time. "You're sure you can't get a vision from this?"

"I'm certain," Rhiannon said. Then, she froze, as if she'd just been struck with a realization. "Sir, you don't think—" She looked anxiously at Dumbledore, who nodded.

"We cannot rule that out as a possibility."

James was tired of feeling confused. "What are you talking about?"

Rhiannon waved her hand. "It would take too long to explain, and we haven't the time."

"Does he know?" Leo asked.

"If he's connected to this diary the way I think, then he must know," Rhiannon said. "He could already be on his way here."

"I will gather the teachers and begin our fortifications of the castle," Dumbledore said. "Do we have time to get the students out?"

Rhiannon shook her head. "I doubt it. You should get the seventh years together. Prepare them to fight." Dumbledore left the room.

James's blood ran cold. "You're sure Voldemort's coming?"

"Positive," Rhiannon said. "You'd better get ready, too. This isn't going to be an easy battle."

"Uh," James said, feeling a little embarrassed. "Phoebe took my power. But I can still fight, of course."

On cue, the Charmed Ones began to stir. They all stood and took in their surroundings. Piper reached out, only to be shocked by the cage. She cursed and glared at her captors.

"You're going to regret doing this to us," Prue said. "You think your little cage can hold up against the Power of Four?"

Oh crap. James looked to Leo. "You think it can?"

"For now," he said, looking as worried as James felt. "Paige, where did you get this diary?"

Paige crossed her arms in defiance. "Like I'm going to tell you."

"Sirius?"

Sirius tried but couldn't read Paige's mind. "She's gotten too good at blocking me," he said.

"Does it really matter how she got it?" Rhiannon said.

"It might. We can't know," Leo replied.

"Well, let's say Voldemort got it to her, somehow," Rhiannon said. "She starts writing in it, not realizing that it's a dark object. Somehow, she becomes obsessed with Tom and the diary. Probably, it was infecting her with dark magic all along. The dark magic spreads to the other sisters, from Paige." She paused. "If we destroy the source of the magical infection, maybe that'll end the spell on the sisters."

"It's worth a try," Leo said.

James pointed his wand at the diary. "_Incendio_." Nothing happened to the diary.

"A simple spell isn't going to work," Rhiannon said. "This is Voldemort we're talking about. We need something stronger."

"Like what?" Sirius said.

"I'm not sure," Rhiannon admitted. "If this thing is what I think it is, it might be indestructible." Rhiannon ran her hand through her hair and began pacing, making small sounds of frustration. "How does one destroy a horcrux?" she said to herself.

"A horcrux?" Leo repeated. "You really think that's what this is?"

"I hope not, but it might be," Rhiannon said. "I certainly wouldn't doubt Voldemort would do it."

"What is a horcrux?" James asked, impatiently.

Rhiannon didn't stop pacing. "Short answer? A piece of someone's soul, ripped out by an act of murder and put in an object. As long as that object survives, the person can't die."

"What makes you think this is a horcrux?" Remus said, cautiously approaching the diary.

"Not much," Rhiannon said. "Just the idea of putting some of himself in the diary. And how powerful it is. This thing will do anything to protect itself, I guarantee you."

"But we can't be sure," Leo said. "Rhiannon, call Luke. I'm going to go consult with the Elders on the diary." He orbed out.

"Luke!"

One whitelighter replaced the other, and they continued to puzzle over the diary. The Charmed Ones tried, unsuccessfully, to escape from their cage. When it became clear to them that they weren't getting out, they started taunting them that they were all going to die when Voldemort arrived. James tried to ignore them, but he had to admit he was afraid. Voldemort was no ordinary warlock. If Rhiannon was right about the diary, he was immortal. How could they hope to win in a fight against an immortal warlock?

Professor Halliwell entered the room some time later. She spared her granddaughters a brief glance before she began to cast protection spells on the room. "They may be evil now, but we have to keep them safe," she said. When she was done casting, she went up into the tower to gather any Gryffindor students who were up there.

"James, Sirius, Remus, you'd better come with me," she said. "Luke, you can handle my granddaughters?"

Luke nodded. "Rhiannon, you should go."

Rhiannon gave the diary one last look, then left with Professor Halliwell and the others.

The younger students were sent to the dungeons, where a protected area was being constructed. James, Sirius, Remus, and Rhiannon joined the seventh years in front of the doors to Hogwarts. They were the second line of defense; there were teachers waiting outside for Voldemort's attack.

Rhiannon grabbed Sirius's hand and squeezed it. "For Merlin's sake, be careful," she said, near tears. "Don't do anything reckless, you big idiot."

"It's going to be fine," Sirius said.

James spotted a red head in the group of students. "Lily!" he called, and made her way over to her.

Lily turned around to face James. "James," she said, somber.

They looked at each other in silence for a moment; then, Lily grabbed the front of his robes and, pulling him forward, kissed him.

"That's just in case we die," Lily said, once the kiss had ended. "It doesn't mean anything."

James didn't really care if it meant anything. Lily had kissed him!

Lily rolled her eyes. "Focus, James."

Right. They had a battle to fight. James tensed, his wand at the ready. "I'm sorry, Lily," he found himself saying. "I've been a total berk all these years."

"Shut up," Lily said, calmly. "We are going to survive this."

"But you just said—"

"We are going to survive this."

Outside, a boom sounded. James tried to guess at what had happened, but couldn't. But it was clear that the battle had begun.

* * *

Kira was scared, but, strangely, also serene. This was it, the moment she'd been dreading for months. Voldemort was coming, and he would get her. She didn't have to be a seer to know that. But now, all she cared about was making sure that no one at Hogwarts got hurt. Especially Sirius.

Should she just give herself up? No, Voldemort wasn't only after her. He'd kill her, but he'd also kill everyone else. She had to fight, to protect the students of Hogwarts. This was the act of good she wanted to commit.

She almost wanted to go outside and help the teachers. Waiting inside was maddening, but she didn't have to wait long. Demons began to shimmer into the castle, and spells and energy balls began to fly. Kira faced off with a particularly ugly fellow, one she didn't recognize. She deflected his energy balls, finally getting in an _incendio_ that incinerated him.

She kept an eye on Sirius as she fought. He was good—as she'd expect, considering he'd been doing this nearly his whole life. She caught sight of Remus, James, and Lily as well. They were all doing well in their confrontations with the demons. But it might be a different story when they went up against the Death Eaters, who were sure to come eventually.

"Seer!"

Kira cringed at the booming voice and turned around. A relatively normal looking woman was standing there, smirking. "Kadri," she said. "You're looking well." The last time Kira had seen her, she'd been rather more spikey.

"What are you doing in that body?" Kadri asked, wrinkling her nose. "I can smell the good coming off it from here."

Kira looked out of the corner of her eye and saw that Sirius had caught sight of what was happening. _Stay away_, she silently ordered him, hoping he would hear.

Kira raised her wand. Kadri only smiled.

"So the rumors are true," she said. "You've gone good."

Kadri couldn't be killed by a simple spell. It would take a Wiccan witch reciting a particular spell. Kira knew the spell, but it wasn't as though it was any good to her.

Kadri whipped a fire ball at her. She dove out of the way, and then heard Sirius shouting a spell. Kadri turned on him, sending a fire ball at him.

"Stop!" she screamed at the other demon.

Kadri laughed. "Have a soft spot for this one, Kira?"

Kira fired a stunning spell at her, knowing it would have no effect. Out of desperation, she began to chant, "Demon of night, I call good's light."

"You can't kill me, Seer," Kadri called. "Only works with witches."

"Shine upon this cursed blight, and strike her from my sight!"

To Kira's shock, Kadri screamed as a brilliant light shone upon her. It engulfed her, and she exploded.

"Good one!" Sirius said, and went back to fighting another demon.

Kira would have stopped to dwell on what had just happened, but an energy ball clipped her arm, and she was forced to go back into battle. The spell had worked for her, a demon. There was no way it could have worked. Unless something had changed in her. Unless she was something other than a demon.

Her heart leapt at the thought, and she fought with renewed vigor. If she wasn't a demon, what was she? She dared not consider the possibility that she was human, truly human. Humans had souls, and she didn't recall picking one of those up. So she wasn't human, but she wasn't quite a demon. It was enough to give her hope, enough to make her fight for her life.

Suddenly, the doors burst open, and the teachers backed into the castle. They were fighting with Death Eaters, who boldly went unmasked. Voldemort was not among them. Probably, he was waiting for victory before he arrived.

But to her relief, Rhiannon could see that aurors had arrived. In all this chaos, Kira couldn't hope to predict the outcome of this battle, but she began to believe good could win this battle.

A killing curse went by her, and she found a Death Eater upon her.

"Haden," she said. She was surprised to see him; he was high up in the Ministry of Magic, and would lose everything if they lost this battle. Voldemort must be very confident that he was going to win.

"The Dark Lord will reward me for killing you," Haden said, sending another killing curse at her.

A stone statue jumped in front of her, taking the hit. McGonagall's spell. Kira silently thanked McGonagall and praised her creativity.

Kira was certain she wasn't getting out of this battle alive. She was not a witch; though she knew enough spells to get by, she didn't stand a chance against a fully trained wizard. She'd lived her life as a demon, just getting by and trying not to take sides. She wanted to die taking a side—the right one.

But then, she was being orbed away. She found herself back in the Gryffindor common room, with Leo and Luke. The Charmed Ones were still in their cage.

"We need your help," Leo said.


	32. Destroying the Diary

**A/N: Thank you to AzNeRd for reviewing.**

"We think we've found a way to destroy the diary," Leo said. "We're going to need to find a dark creature."

"What kind? There are demons crawling all over the castle," Kira said, slightly annoyed that she'd been taken away from what she considered her last battle.

"A proper creature," Luke said. "We've narrowed it down to three: the basilisk, the manticore, and the acromantula."

Kira stared at him. "What? You want me to find one of those? What the hell for?"

"They produce poisons that the Elders think may be strong enough to destroy the diary," Leo said.

"Okay, with the manticore, I at least have some idea where it would be," Kira said. "But the others? A basilisk? Who's stupid enough, these days, to make a basilisk?"

"They've been rumors of an acromantula colony in Scotland," Luke said. "We thought you should try for that first."

"You mean try for a vision?"

"Hopefully," Leo said, taking out an atlas and a crystal. "But we've brought these as well."

Scrying was a witch's thing, and Kira wasn't confident she could do it. "An acromantula. No problem." She took the atlas, feeling a little lost. "Do you have some kind of reference for me?"

Luke produced a large bag and handed it to Kira. "A petrified acromantula leg."

Kira made a face. "Yuck." She opened the bag and peered cautiously in. it was as gross as she'd been expecting. "Where'd you get this? Never mind, I don't want to know."

"Acromantula?" Paige said, making Kira jump. She'd forgotten about the sisters. "Is that like a spider or something?"

"Yes, it's a very dangerous type of spider," Leo answered.

Paige considered this information. "So that's what it was," she said, to herself.

Kira took a step toward the cage, trying to read Paige. "What was?"

Paige didn't answer, but she was thinking about it. That was enough to give Kira a quick vision of a spider—a baby acromantula—escaping from the castle into the forest. "Oh my God," she said. She turned back to Leo and Luke. "I know where we can find an acromantula."

At first, Luke and Leo insisted on her staying in the castle, but she told them there was no way they were going to get near an acromantula without someone with a wand. After some discussion, Leo agreed, reluctantly, to take her with him into the forest.

They orbed out, and Kira tried not to listen too hard for the sounds of battle. Kira concentrated, feeling out the right way to go. "This way," she said, and led them into the forest.

Being in the forest brought up bad memories, and Kira tried not to shudder as they trekked through the forest. What they were heading for was far worse than a Death Eater, and as intent on killing them.

"By the way," Kira said, "have you got a plan?"

"Not exactly," Leo said. "Maybe if we can sneak up on the colony, we can catch one of the smaller ones and stun it. Then we can get the poison."

It wasn't the most solid plan, but it was better than nothing. They walked through the forest for what felt like thirty minutes or more. Kira held up her arm, stopping Leo. "Right there," she said, quietly. She took out her wand and silently walked toward the colony. She could sense one to her right, and she threw a stunning spell at it.

She hit her target and went over to the fallen spider. Kira transfigured a rock into a vial. "How do I…?" She put the vial under the spider's fang. "Just push, you think?"

Leo shrugged. "I've never milked an acromantula before."

So Kira poked at the spider until poison shot out into the vial. "Let's get the hell out of here," she said, once the vial was full.

They orbed back into the castle and set up the diary. "Here goes nothing," Kira said. But before she could pour the poison on to the diary, the book screamed and a ghostly form rose from its pages. It was a young Voldemort.

"Seer," the ghost said. "You dare to destroy your master?"

"What is he talking about?" Luke said.

Kira was too shocked to do anything except back away.

"You can still redeem yourself," Voldemort said. "Return the diary to me, and I will forgive you."

"Rhiannon," Luke sharply said.

"They will destroy you once they know what you are, Seer."

Leo grabbed the vial from her and poured the poison on the diary. Voldemort screamed as the diary dissolved into nothing.

"Oh God," Prue said. "Oh my God."

They turned to face the Charmed Ones. "Feeling more like yourselves?" Leo asked.

"Yeah," Piper said, and cringed. "I can't believe what we did."

"What in Merlin's name is going on?" Patty had returned to her normal form and was looking confused.

Luke grabbed Kira's arm. "What did he mean, when they find out what you are? Why did he call you 'Seer'?"

Kira didn't say anything. She could have come up with an elaborate lie, but she was tired of lying. She was done with her deception. "All right," she said, quietly. "It's over."

Everyone in the room had turned their focus on her, except Patty, who was still trying to get her bearings.

"I'm not Rhiannon," Kira said. "My name is Kira, but nearly everyone calls me the Seer. I'm a demon. Or I was. I'm not really sure what I am, actually."

There was a long silence.

"A demon," Phoebe repeated. She shook her head. "No. That's not possible."

"Where is Rhiannon?" Luke demanded.

Kira closed her eyes briefly. "She's dead," she said. "She died with her mother. I took over her life almost immediately."

Luke let go off her arm and took a step away from her.

Phoebe tried to get to her, but was stopped by the crystal cage. Leo opened the cage, and Phoebe walked up to her, shock and disbelief in her eyes. "You're a demon," she said in a low, hurt voice. "I thought you were my friend."

"That was the point," Kira said. "I was sent here by Voldemort, to find a way to destroy you."

"You did this?" Prue said, gesturing toward the destroyed diary.

"No!" Kira said. "I would never. After I got to know you, I couldn't hurt you. I defected."

Prue raised her wand. "What should we do with her?" she asked, looking to Leo.

"Might as well put her in the crystal cage."

Kira moved obediently to the crystal cage. Leo quickly filled Patty in on what was happening.

"We have to restore the protection," Patty said. "We'll have the girls redo the protection spell. That should get the demons out of the castle. From there, we should be able to force the Death Eaters back." She looked at Kira. "We'll deal with her later. Leo, you should guard her. Luke…" She touched his arm. "I'm so sorry."

Kira's heart contracted painfully. She should be the one apologizing to Luke. But he wouldn't even look at her. Neither would Phoebe. Kira sank down to the floor, so weighed down by regret and guilt that she couldn't stand. "I'm sorry," she whispered. They didn't hear her.

* * *

Phoebe chanted the words of the protection spell, barely aware of what she was doing. Rhiannon—no, she corrected herself, Kira—was a demon. Her best friend was a demon, sent by Voldemort.

Why had Kira focused her attention on Phoebe? Why befriend her, and not one of her other sisters? Was there something about Phoebe that she'd been drawn to? Phoebe banished the thought. There was nothing dark in Phoebe that Kira would have taken an interest in.

Although she'd just been evil, for a short time. But that was because of a spell. It wasn't because there was evil inside Phoebe.

When Phoebe became aware of her surroundings, she was in front of the door to Hogwarts. There were students and teachers fighting a group of people Phoebe guessed were Death Eaters. It was clear that the students and teachers were winning.

"The demons are gone," Patty said. "The spell worked. They'll be able to round up the Death Eaters now."

Some of the Death Eaters were fleeing, realizing that the end was near. Most of them had been captured and were in crystal cages, or were stunned. As Phoebe watched, the last of the Death Eaters were rounded up. Everyone cheered—save for the Charmed Ones, who were still trying to recover from all that had happened to them.

"Now what?" Piper asked.

"Now, we have to deal with the demon," Patty said.

Phoebe flinched. She didn't like hearing her mother refer to Kira as a demon, even though that's what she was.

"Wait," Phoebe said. "I have to return James's power." It was true that she had to return James's power, but she was also looking for a way to delay the inevitable. She didn't want to deal with Kira just yet, so she walked into the crowd of people celebrating the victory, looking for James.

She found him quickly enough. He eyed her suspiciously. "Er, hello, Phoebe," he said, clutching his wand tightly.

"I'm good again," she said. "I'm really sorry about stealing your power. What was yours is yours again. Your powers to you I send." Phoebe felt the stolen power leave her body. "And, you know, the part where I tried to kill you. Really sorry about that, too."

"No harm done," James said. "You weren't yourself."

"Phoebe." Her mother placed her hand on her shoulder. "It's time."

"But Sirius, he should know," Phoebe said. "He deserves to know."

"Know what?" James asked.

"Rhiannon," Phoebe began, but the words stuck in her throat.

"Rhiannon isn't who we thought," Patty said. "She's a demon."

"Who's a demon?" Sirius said, walking up with a grin on his face. "Can you believe we won?"

Phoebe's heart sank even lower. "Sirius," she said. Maybe this wasn't a good idea. He didn't need to know yet.

"Rhiannon's a demon!" James said.

_As gentle as a bull_, Phoebe thought. She wanted to put it a bit more delicately, but there it was. "It's true," Phoebe said. "We're trying to figure out what to do with her right now."

Sirius looked from Phoebe to James. "You're joking, aren't you?" They didn't respond. "How can this be true?"

"Come with us," Patty said. Sirius followed, mutely, as they went back to the Gryffindor tower.

* * *

Sirius didn't believe it until he saw Rhiannon in the crystal cage. She was sitting on the floor, looking absolutely devastated. His anger rose. "Get up," he said, "and tell me who you are."

She looked up. "Sirius," she said. "My real name is Kira."

"How long have you been in her?"

"Since before I met you," she said.

"That can't be," he said. If it was true, then that meant that he'd fallen in love with a demon. He couldn't believe that.

"It's true," she said. Her eyes were pleading. Sirius could hardly bear to look at her.

"Should we… should we vanquish her?" Piper said, reminding him that there were others in the room.

"No!" Phoebe and Sirius said at the same time. They glanced at each other. Phoebe looked as torn as Sirius felt. Yes, Kira was a demon, but Sirius loved her. Or thought he loved her. He didn't know how to feel, now.

"She's in the book," Prue said. She was holding the Book of Shadows in her lap. "The Seer. It says she's got no active powers, just her psychic power. 'A powerful psychic, the Seer is known to avoid power struggles in the Underworld, choosing a side only when her life is in danger. If she becomes a nuisance, one can use a basic vanquishing spell to kill her.'"

"It doesn't sound like she's dangerous," Paige said. "Maybe we don't have to vanquish her."

"She's still a demon," Leo said. "We have to do something with her."

"First, we should find out everything we can from her about Voldemort," Patty said.

"I don't know much," Kira said. "I never could read him or see his future. Other than this attack. But now we know he's made at least one horcrux. He's probably made more."

"No one's ever made more than one horcrux," Leo said. "It would be insane to make more than one."

"Voldemort would," Kira said. "Think about it. He sent the diary to Paige, somehow."

"He pretended to be Prue, sending it to me," Paige said.

"Why would he give up something so precious, if it was the only one?" Kira paused long enough to let that sink in. "He's got more."

"Can you find them?" Patty asked.

Kira shook her head. "Like I said, I can't read him or see his future. The horcruxes, I think, will be particularly resistant to my power."

"Why are you helping us?" Sirius asked.

"I know you won't believe me," Kira said, "but I care about you." She smiled, but there was sadness in her eyes. "Being with you changed me. You showed me that there are things worth fighting for." She looked down. "Worth dying for."

Phoebe stepped forward and kicked a crystal out of the circle, bringing down the crystal cage.

"Phoebe, what are doing?" Patty said, alarmed.

"Hundreds of times, she could have killed us," Phoebe said. "She could have turned us over to Voldemort. But she didn't. She doesn't need to be in a cage."

"But if she tries to run?" Leo said.

"If I leave, Voldemort will find me and kill me," Kira said. "There's nowhere for me to go."

Leo and Patty still looked concerned, but they didn't try to put Kira back in her cage.

"What did you tell Voldemort about the Charmed Ones?" Leo asked.

"Not much," she said. "I stopped reporting to him earlier this year. I told him that the Charmed Ones weren't connected, but that's not true anymore."

"You decided to be good," Sirius said. "Why didn't you tell us then what you were?"

"I don't know," Kira said. "I wanted to, sort of. But I was selfish. I was happy, and I didn't want to lose that happiness."

Sirius knew that she was inviting him to read her mind, without saying a word. He resisted as long as he could, afraid of what he's find out. But at last he looked into her mind. She was completely open; no part of her mind was closed to him. She was telling the truth, about everything.

"We'll turn her over to the aurors," Patty said.

"What will they do with her?" Phoebe asked.

"Probably take her to Azkaban," Patty answered.

Phoebe paled. "The prison? But she…" She looked at Kira. "She hasn't done anything wrong."

"Phoebe, she can't just go free," Leo said.

"I've been around for two hundred years, Phoebe," Kira said. "Less than a year of being good doesn't really make up for all that I've done."

"Sirius, say something," Phoebe said. But he didn't know what to say.

Patty went up to Kira and touched her, orbing them out of the room.

Phoebe turned and ran out of the room, her hands clutched into fists at her side.

"Should I go after her?" Piper asked.

"Leave her alone," Prue said. "She needs some time."

The remaining sisters looked at Sirius, clearly at a loss for words.

"Sirius," Prue started, but Sirius shook his head.

There was nothing to say, not now. Sirius left the room, thinking he might as well go find James and the others. They'd have a million questions about Kira, none of which he wanted to answer, but he couldn't hide from them for long. Better to get this over with.


	33. Life Sentence

**A/N: Thank you to TwilightCharmedFaie for reviewing.**

The aurors bound her hands as soon as the word "demon" left Patty's mouth. Kira made no effort to resist them.

"She'll be taken to Azkaban," one auror said, speaking as if she weren't present. "They may give her a trial, but I doubt it."

The second auror scanned her with his wand, making a small sound of surprise. "I think she's got a soul."

Kira's head snapped up. "What?" she said. "I've got a soul?"

The auror nodded. "Yeah, definitely got a soul."

"A real human soul?" she said, warmth growing in her. "But how can that be?" She looked to Patty.

She took a moment to think. "Well, I know that half-demons get rid of their souls by committing acts of violence," she said. "Maybe by doing good, you earned a soul."

"Eligible for the kiss," the first auror said.

Kira's heart sank. The Dementor's Kiss. She'd just gotten a soul, and now she was at risk of losing it.

"She's not a demon, then," Patty said to the aurors. "Not really. Be sure to keep that in mind."

The first auror shrugged. "Probably won't make much a difference to the council, but we'll tell them."

The second auror grabbed her and apparated them to Azkaban. Kira looked up at the high, gray walls and was reminded of her cave in the underworld. It would have felt good to know she'd never have to return there, if not for the fact that her new home was a prison.

She felt afraid, and for a panicked moment, she thought of trying to run. But Azkaban was in the middle of the sea; there was nowhere for her to run.

"Come on," the auror said, tugging her into the prison.

A dementor passed before them, and for the first time, Kira felt the effects the creature had on a human soul. She'd dealt with them before, as a demon, and had never felt any ill effects. Now, she felt as though she would never feel happiness again. She felt weak and leaned against the wall for support.

The auror produced a patronus that cast the dementor aside. He then led Kira to a cell. There was an awful eerie silence to the place at first, but then someone screamed. The auror closed the door to the cell and, saying nothing, left.

Without the patronus present, the dementors drifted over to their new prey. Kira crouched in the corner of the cell, as far away from the dementors as she could get. It didn't help much; she could still feel them sucking the happiness out of her. Not that she had much happiness left.

She knew she deserved this, for all that she had done as a demon. But she still found herself crying and wishing that there was a way she could escape.

_There is no escape from here_, she harshly reminded herself.

* * *

After a few days without classes while the students and teachers recovered from the recent battle, classes resumed and life went back to normal. Except life could never go back to normal for Phoebe, now that she knew about Kira.

Even after a few days of knowing about Kira, Phoebe was still having trouble believing this was reality, and not some bad dream. She'd learned from her mother that Kira had a soul, and was more of a human than she was a demon. That only further complicated things. Her mother had said that Kira had probably earned a soul from doing good. So, she was now good, but what about her past? Phoebe didn't know all that Kira had done as a demon. She might have killed people. She had been working for Voldemort, after all.

Phoebe didn't know how to feel about Kira. A part of her couldn't see her as anything but her friend, and that part wanted nothing more than to help her. But Kira wasn't the friend Phoebe had thought she was; even if she was good, she'd been deceiving Phoebe all the time she had known her.

Phoebe's sisters didn't know what to say to her, and she didn't know how to act around them. So she went to Sirius. He was the only other person who'd been as close to Kira as Phoebe had been. Phoebe felt quite bad for him; it was obvious that he'd fallen in love with Rhiannon before he'd discovered the truth.

They were talking together when Patty orbed into the room. "I have good news," she said. "Kira will be given a trial."

Phoebe had been hoping Kira would get a trial. She deserved that much. "That's good," Phoebe said, and Sirius murmured his agreement. "Can I… can I be there?"

"I'm not sure," Patty said. "I'd have to talk to the council."

Phoebe nodded. "I understand. I just… I don't know. I think I'd like closure."

"Do you think she has a chance?" Sirius asked.

Patty gave him a sad look. "I doubt it. She served Voldemort. She won't deny it's true, and the council won't be very sympathetic, even if she is human now."

"If they had seen her—" Phoebe stopped, thinking of Kira sitting on the floor in her crystal cage. Then, a new image came to her, of Kira in a prison cell, with dementors all around. "She is sorry," Phoebe said, softly. She knew it was true, but she didn't know if it was enough.

"That probably won't count for much," Patty said. "I'll go talk to the council now, and I'll let you know if you can attend."

The council reluctantly agreed to let Phoebe come to the trial. She asked if Sirius wanted to come, but he went pale, saying that he didn't think he could see her like that.

Phoebe wasn't quite sure what he meant until the day of trial arrived, and Patty orbed her to the courtroom. In the middle of the room, there was a cage, with Kira in it. She was visibly shaking. Her robes were dirty, and she looked like she could barely hold herself up.

Phoebe looked away, trying to gather herself.

"Are you all right?" Patty asked.

Phoebe nodded. "I'm fine." She straightened, looking back at Kira.

This time, Kira saw her. Phoebe could see the anguish written on her face.

A gavel banged, and Phoebe jumped. The case was announced, and Minister of Magic began the trial. Phoebe's hands tightened into fists.

It was shockingly short. The Minister read the charges against Kira—mainly serving an enemy of the state—and then asked Kira to speak for herself.

"I served Voldemort," Kira said in hoarse voice. It sounded like she'd been screaming. Phoebe shuddered. "But I beg you, return me to the underworld. Kill me. Do anything but keep me in that place. I can't—" She broke off, sobbing.

Phoebe found herself involuntarily rising from her seat. "Kira!" she called.

Patty grabbed her arm. "Phoebe, don't."

Kira turned to her. "Phoebe, please," she begged. "Just vanquish me. It would be better."

Tears welled up in her eyes. She shook her head. "I can't, Kira, you know I can't."

"Order!" the Minister said. "Ms. Halliwell, sit down before I have you removed."

Phoebe said, reluctantly, and the trial went on.

"The defendant has admitted to her guilt," the Minister said. "She will be sentenced to life in Azkaban."

"No!" Phoebe and Kira cried at the same time. Phoebe stood. "Please, Minister, let me speak for her," Phoebe said. "She's good, I know she is."

But the Minister wouldn't listen. Eventually, Phoebe was dragged from the courtroom, kicking and yelling.

Once back at Hogwarts, Phoebe wandered the hallways aimlessly, angry and upset. It wasn't right. Kira didn't deserve to suffer. She had fought side by side with good wizards and witches; she had risked her life to protect Hogwarts. Whatever she had done in the past, it didn't matter anymore. Kira wasn't the demon she once was. Now, she was human, and she deserved to go free.

Phoebe's feet carried her to the Gryffindor tower. She touched the portrait and picked up a premonition telling her the password. The portrait opened when she spoke the password, and she stepped in. Sirius wasn't in the common room, so Phoebe went up what she hoped were the right stairs to find him.

She'd chosen the right stairs.

"Phoebe," Sirius said, looking surprised and anxious. Evidently, Patty hadn't told him the outcome of the trial.

"It's not fair," she burst out. "She doesn't deserve it."

Sirius stood. "What was the sentence?"

"Life in Azkaban," Phoebe said. A fresh wave of tears was starting up. She wiped away the first to fall. "She begged me to vanquish her. She'd rather be dead than stay there." Phoebe shook her head. "I won't let her suffer there."

"We can't do anything for her," Sirius said, miserably. "It's done."

"No, it's not," Phoebe said. A plan was beginning to form in her head. "I'm going to get her out." She turned and left the room.

Sirius followed her. "What do you mean, you're going to get her out?"

"I'm going to break her out of Azkaban," Phoebe said.

"That's madness," Sirius said. "Look, I want her out too, but you can't break her out. It's never been done."

"Then I'll be the first," Phoebe replied. She was headed to her grandmother's quarters. There had to be something in the Book that would help her.

"You're a sixteen-year-old witch with hardly two years' training," Sirius said. "What makes you think you can get Kira out of Azkaban when fully trained wizards and witches have never managed it?"

"I'm a Charmed One," Phoebe said. "I'm different." The portrait to Grams's quarters opened when she said the password, and she opened the book. There was a short entry on Azkaban, which provided no useful information.

"You can't even produce a patronus," Sirius said. "That's the only thing that will get you past dementors."

Phoebe took out her wand. "_Expecto Patronum_!" she cast, hoping that the force of her will would be enough. She still only produced a few wisps. She looked up at Sirius. "You can cast a patronus."

"Yes, but—" He stopped, struggling with himself. "All right. I'll go along with your insane plan. Just how are we going to get there?"

Phoebe thought for a moment. "Brooms. We're both strong fliers. We'll use that invisibility spell that Remus and I used when we went back into the past." She flipped through the book until she found the spell. "There aren't any human guards in Azkaban. As long as we can get by the dementors, we should be able to get her out."

"There are tons of spells around Azkaban that would sense us the moment we entered the air," Sirius said. "How do you plan on getting past those?"

"I guess a Power of Four spell. Something really strong to keep us invisible in all ways," Phoebe said. Then she remembered Prue. "Shoot. How are we going to get Prue without mum or Leo knowing?"

"Floo," Sirius said. "Send her a letter and she should be able to floo here."

"You're a genius, Sirius," Phoebe said. "There's a fireplace in my room. We'll have her go there." Phoebe grabbed the Book and briskly walked back to her room, where she found Piper and Paige. She grabbed some parchment and wrote a quick note. "I haven't got an owl. Can you send this off?"

She handed the note to Sirius, who hurried away.

"Uh, what's going on here?" Piper asked.

"Prison break," Phoebe said. She was practically vibrating with energy. "Sirius and I are going to break Kira out."

Paige gasped. "Are you mad?"

"She doesn't deserve to be in prison for the rest of her life," Phoebe said. "She's good now, and she should be free."

"Phoebe, listen to me," Piper said, putting her hands on Phoebe's shoulders and looking into her eyes. "You can't do this. It's extremely dangerous."

"You're not going to stop me," Phoebe said.

"I won't let you go," Piper said.

"What are you going to do?" Phoebe challenged.

This left Piper at a momentary loss. "I'll call mum."

"You wouldn't."

"I would too."

"Then I'm sorry about this," Phoebe said, quickly casting a spell to bind Piper and gag her with ropes. She fell to the ground, struggling. Phoebe turned to face Paige. "How about you?"

Paige put up her hands. "I surrender."

Sirius returned. He'd grabbed his broom on the way. "She should get it very soon," he said. He then noticed Piper, on the floor. "What happened to her?"

"She threatened to call mum," Phoebe said. "I really am sorry, Piper, but this is important."

Piper said something, but the rope in her mouth garbled her words. It sounded angry, whatever she said.

It seemed to take forever, but eventually, Prue appeared in the fireplace. "What's up?" she said, stepping out. She saw Piper and her eyes went wide. "Oh no. Don't tell me she's gone evil again."

"Not exactly." Phoebe picked up the parchment she'd been writing on while waiting for Prue. It was a spell that she hoped would completely mask them from all detection. "Prue, this is very important, but you'll have to trust me. I can't explain yet." She held out her hand. "Touch Piper." Paige took Phoebe's other hand. "Sirius, grab Paige's hand. Here goes nothing." She began to chant, "_Abdere_,_ celare_, _latesco_, _recondo_, disillusion magic rise, _abstrudus_, _occulo_, _velo_, by the Power of Four, hide us from all spells' eyes."

For a moment, it felt like Phoebe was being soaked in some cold liquid. Phoebe looked at her arms, but could see nothing. "I guess it worked," Phoebe said. "Now for the invisibility spell."

"Hold it," Prue said. "You're going to explain now."

"Okay," Phoebe said. "I'm breaking Kira out of jail. I know, I know, I must be crazy, it's dangerous, so on and so forth."

Prue looked at her for a moment. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't call mum right now."

"She'll stop me," Phoebe said. "And I'm going to do whatever I have to do to make this happen." She gestured toward Piper. "As you can see."

"Then I'm going with you," Prue said.

"Fine, go back and grab your broom," Phoebe said. "Let's set up for the invisibility spell."

Prue untied Piper. "Piper, you won't call mum, right?"

Piper stood and worked her jaw for a moment. "No," she said, with a fair bit of resentment.

Prue reentered the fireplace, returning a moment later with her broom. "Let's do this."

Paige cast the invisibility spell on them, and they left the room.


	34. Jail Break

**A/N: thank you to TwilightCharmedFaie for reviewing the last chapter.**

It was a beautiful evening, but Prue hardly noticed. Her hands gripped her broomstick so tightly that her knuckles were turning white. She had to be losing it. She was not only allowing her sister to break a demon out of prison, she was helping her. But she knew there was no stopping Phoebe when she was determined. Better to help her do this than have her get herself in a dangerous situation alone.

Sirius, Phoebe, and Prue sped through the sky for what seemed like hours, before they finally reached the prison. Prue spared a glance at her sister. Phoebe was looking ahead with determination.

They slowed. "If we set off any spells, we should know soon," Sirius said, as they neared the prison.

They landed silently and took out their wands. "Better cast the patronus spell now," Phoebe said.

Sirius and Prue cast the patronus spell. Two ghostly dogs appeared.

Phoebe nodded. "Let's go."

Though there were no human guards, there was a gate. Together, Prue and Phoebe blasted the gate open.

"Something will definitely be set off by that," Sirius said. "We'll have to move quickly."

They ran into the prison, and Prue realized what a monumental task this was going to be. Her patronus was keeping the dementors at bay, but the prison was larger than she'd expected. How were they going to find Kira?

"Which way do we go?" Prue asked, hoping Phoebe had some idea what she was doing.

"I can just sense her," Sirius said. His eyes were closed. "This way." He pointed, leading them in the right direction.

They ran up the stairs, went right, and ran down a hall. Some of the prisoners were lucid enough to notice what was happening. They began shouting and banging on the bars of their cells.

Sirius stopped short. "Here."

Prue looked into the jail cell to see Kira crouched in the corner, holding her head.

"Kira," Phoebe said. "We're here to rescue you."

Kira looked up. "Am I already hallucinating?"

"No," Sirius said. "Stand back." He blasted open the cell door and offered his hand to Kira. "We've got to hurry."

They ran back down the hall, down the stairs, and out of the prison.

A group of people appeared on the rock. Aurors, Prue guessed.

"Stop!" one cried and sent off a stunning spell.

Prue deflected the spell back at the auror, stunning her. She summoned their broomsticks, and they all got on, Kira getting on behind Sirius. The aurors ran toward them, still firing off spells. Prue deflected all of them, and they got into the air and raced away.

They'd surely been recognized. Everyone knew who Phoebe and Prue were, after all. The aurors would probably go straight to Hogwarts. Where else could they go? The Manor? But that would be too obvious. The Black house? She figured they'd check there as well, but they had to stop somewhere to regroup. Prue shouted for the others to follow her.

During the flight to London, Prue kept checking behind her, certain that she'd see aurors after them. But no one had caught up with them. They made it to London and landed before 12 Grimmauld Place.

It was late, and Prue had left without telling Regulus where she was going or what she was doing. He was probably worried sick about her.

"Oh Merlin, not here," Sirius said. "We've got to go somewhere else."

"Eventually," Prue said. "But right now, we need to regroup. We've got to figure out where we're going to hide Kira." They entered the house.

"Mum will have a fit if she sees me," Sirius said.

"Morgana's blood!" Regulus said, descending the stairs quickly. "Where have you been?" His gaze landed on Kira. "Who's this?"

"Long story," Prue said. "We've got to get her in hiding."

"Why? What have you done?" Regulus said, looking at Sirius. "Sirius?"

"We broke Kira here out of prison," Sirius explained.

"I see," Regulus said, slowly.

"She can't stay here," Prue said. "The aurors saw us. They'll know to look here."

Regulus took a moment to absorb this information. "Well," he said, "there's always Uncle Alphard."

"Alphard?" Prue repeated. "What makes you think he'll take her in?"

"He's a bit of an eccentric," Regulus said. "She is innocent, isn't she?"

Prue and Phoebe exchanged a glance. "She's good," Phoebe finally said. "She doesn't deserve to be in prison."

"Sirius, please don't do this," Kira said. "I can't ask this of you and your family."

Sirius ignored her. "I think it'll be safe for her to stay the night here," he said. "Take her to Alphard in the morning. Phoebe and I should get back to Hogwarts. I'm sure the aurors are already there."

"But they'll come after you," Prue said.

Sirius shrugged. "It's going to happen sooner or later. Better to keep them distracted with us so they don't come here right away."

"Come on, use the floo," Prue said.

Her sister and Sirius disappeared through the floo, leaving Regulus and Prue with Kira. "Well, we might as well try to get some sleep," Prue said, though she knew that none of them would be getting any sleep that night.

* * *

Phoebe and Sirius were immediately accosted by Piper and Paige.

"There are people looking for you," Piper said, anxiously.

"Yeah, we were expecting that," Phoebe said. She turned to Sirius. "Might as well go to them."

"They're talking to Grams now," Piper said.

Sirius and Phoebe left the room, heading towards Grams's room.

"What do you think they're going to do to us?" Phoebe asked. She was starting to get nervous. What if they took her powers away, or her wand? But it was worth it, now that Kira was free.

"Don't know," Sirius said, sounding equally nervous. "Expel us, at least."

Phoebe stopped. "You shouldn't do this," she said. "I'm hardly even attending Hogwarts, really, but you still have another year here."

Sirius shrugged. "They'll find me if they want to find me. Might as well get it over with."

They reached the portrait to Grams's room, and Phoebe spoke the password. Inside, there were at least ten men and women, along with Grams.

"Phoebe," Grams said. "What on earth have you done now?"

The aurors descended on Sirius and Phoebe. "Mr. Black, Miss Halliwell," a tall, thin woman said. "Where were you earlier this evening?"

Phoebe took a deep breath. "Breaking Kira out of Azkaban," she said.

The aurors all began to talk at once. The witch held up her hand, silencing them. "Where have you taken Kira?"

Sirius and Phoebe said nothing.

"There will be serious consequences for what you have done," the witch said.

Phoebe straightened and looked the witch right in the eye. "It doesn't matter," she said. "It was the right thing to do."

The first thing the aurors did was take Phoebe and Sirius up to the headmaster, to inform him of what they had done.

"They will be contained here at Hogwarts until we can arrange a trial," the witch, who seemed to be the leader, told Dumbledore. "I will have to stay here to guard them."

Dumbledore's eyebrows rose. "Is that really necessary, Edwina? Or do you not trust I can keep track of two teenagers?"

"Of course not, Albus," Edwina said. "I merely feel we shouldn't give them special treatment just because of their age, or Phoebe's celebrity status. They've committed a serious crime."

"Very well," Dumbledore said. "I will arrange a room for you."

They ended up down in the dungeons. Phoebe thought about sneaking out to see Severus, as she wasn't sure that she'd be seeing him before the trial took place. But Edwina put wards on the room, preventing Phoebe from going anywhere.

Edwina lectured Phoebe on her responsibility as a Charmed One to obey rules and asked her, again, to reveal where Kira was. Phoebe refused, reiterating that Kira was good and didn't deserve to suffer now that she was human.

"Would you really sacrifice everything for a demon?" Edwina asked, exasperated.

"Yes," Phoebe answered.

* * *

Kira squeezed her hands together. "You don't have to do this, you know," she told the man before her.

Alphard shrugged. "No, I don't," he said. "But I'm happy to help you."

"You don't even know me," she said. She was filled with guilt over all that Prue, Phoebe, and Sirius had already sacrificed for her. She didn't want to ask a perfect stranger to hide her, but once Alphard had heard about her sentence from the Ministry, he had agreed to hide her.

"The Ministry doesn't believe in forgiveness," Alphard said. "I do."

Kira read Alphard easily; he was like an open book. She knew within minutes of meeting him that he'd been disowned by the Black family for giving money to Sirius after he'd run away. He'd never taken much of an interest in the pureblood politics, preferring to stay in his own world of study. He was a scholar, his expertise being charms. He wasn't a fan of the Ministry of Magic, with its rigid rules.

Kira had to get a plan together, but she didn't have any idea what she was going to do. There was no support group for former demons, no department in the Ministry for helping new humans start their lives. She had no property; demons didn't use money. She could use her skills to get a job, but not while she was on the run.

She was worried, but she was overjoyed to be out of Azkaban. She knew she would do almost anything to stay out of the prison.

Two days passed. Prue came to visit and told her about what would happen to her, her sister, and Sirius.

"A trial's been set," Prue said. "We're going to be tried individually, but we're trying to make it less about us and more about you. Phoebe doesn't think you got a fair trial; she wants to make sure they know that you could have killed us or given us to Voldemort at any time, but chose not to."

Kira shook her head. "This is such a mess," she said. "I never meant for any of this to happen."

"I know," Prue said. "All we can do now is hope."

After a week passed, and Kira began to get a little stir crazy. To keep herself calm, she started studying horcruxes. They'd managed to destroy one of Voldemort's horcruxes, but there had to be more. At least they knew that acromantula poison would work against a horcrux. Alphard helped her find materials, though he shuddered when she mentioned horcruxes.

"That's very dark magic," he said. "I haven't heard of it being used in centuries."

She spend hours studying, sometimes forgetting to eat and sleep. She didn't find much of use. What she really needed was information on Voldemort. So she began to examine what she knew about Voldemort. He was fascinated by Hogwarts and the founders, she knew. She guessed that the diary they'd destroyed had once been Voldemort's book of shadows, but she thought that perhaps the other horcruxes were somehow related to Hogwarts. He wanted, badly, to break into Hogwarts, and he'd almost succeeded.

Kira turned to the history of Hogwarts. She was particularly intrigued by the lost diadem. If Voldemort had found it, he likely would have used it as a horcrux. She read about the Gryffindor sword as well, but doubted Voldemort would have had access to it. It only came to true Gryffindors, after all.

She bounced some of her ideas off Alphard, and together, they began to form a list of possible horcruxes.

"This will be very useful in defeating Voldemort," Alphard said. "The Ministry will appreciate your work. Maybe enough to forgive you."

Kira shook her head. "I doubt it." But she couldn't deny that she hoped the Ministry would forgive her, if she did enough good.

What they really needed was to go out and actually find the horcurxes, but there was no way Kira could venture out into the wizarding world. There were aurors looking for her, and if they caught her, she'd be going straight back to Azkaban. It was frustrating, but there was nothing she could do about it.

So she threw herself into her studies. She even risked a visit to the Black library. Though Prue and Regulus had gotten rid of most of the dark books, they had spared some. She found some useful information on Salazar Slytherin there.

Then, Dumbledore appeared at the front door of Alphard's house.

"It's okay," Kira said, as Alphard tried to hide her. "He's not here to turn me in."

"Prue has told me that you're trying to figure out what objects Voldemort made into horcruxes," Dumbledore said, entering the house. "I'd like to hear what you've learned so far."

"Right now it's just theory," she said. "I'm guessing he used some objects related to the founders, especially Slytherin."

They sat together and discussed Voldemort and his history.

"You may be key to destroying Voldemort," Dumbledore said. "I will make that clear to the Ministry."

Kira wasn't sure that his word would be enough. "Thank you," she said.

"If the Ministry lets you go," Dumbledore said, "I'd like to keep you near, protected from Voldemort. A position is opening up next year, for Divination. I think you would make a fine professor."

Kira's mouth dropped open. "You're kidding me. A professor? But sir, I'm—well, you know what I am."

"You're a human, and a powerful psychic," Dumbledore said.

"But the parents will have a fit," Kira said. "I'm sure everyone's heard about my breakout."

"You would be surprised," Dumbledore said. "The Ministry has suppressed the news of the breakout. They don't want anyone losing confidence in the Ministry's competence."

If no one knew about the breakout, then only a select group of people knew she was a former demon. She may actually have a chance to start over. If the Ministry forgave her. "Do you really think I have a chance of going free?"

"Two Charmed Ones believed so strongly in your goodness that they broke you out of an impenetrable prison," Dumbledore said. "That will serve you well."

When he left, Kira was dizzy with the possibilities. She could have a life, after all this was over. Even though there was a chance that she wouldn't go free, she felt it was safe to hope she would.


	35. The End

**A/N: Thank you to TwilightCharmedFaie for reviewing. This is the final chapter, though I am considering a sequel, when the girls are all grown up.**

The chair Prue was sitting in was uncomfortable, but considering the situation, she wasn't surprised. Grams stood to her right, looking coolly at the members of the Wizengamot. The Minister of Magic read the charges—attempt to evade arrest, breaking into Azakaban, assisting a known criminal—and asked her to respond.

"I did all of that," Prue said, "but I had good reason."

"Quiet, Prue," Grams said. "We admit to Prue's guilt, but we have witnesses to call before the court makes a judgment."

"Proceed," the Minister said.

"First, I am calling Albus Dumbledore to testify in Prue's defense."

Dumbledore sat in a chair next to Prue's. "I believe Prue Halliwell's actions were justified," he said. "This council acted hastily in sentencing Kira. She is not the demon she was. I assure this council that she is fully committed to fighting evil. She may have worked Voldemort once, but now she is working to destroy him."

There was murmuring among the council members. "Do you mean to say you know where Kira is?" one woman said.

"I do," Dumbledore answered. "But I'm afraid I can't reveal her location until I'm sure you agree with me that Kira only wants to do good."

"Albus, do you want to be charged as an accessory?" the Minister said.

"It is a crime I'd be honored to be charged as an accessory to," Dumbledore replied. "But Kira will be happy to reveal herself once I can assure her that she won't be thrown back into Azkaban."

The members of the Wizengamot talked among themselves. "We cannot just ignore what she did as a demon," the Minister said.

"I believe she can make up for what she did as a demon, through her service to the Light," Dumbledore said.

Again, the Wizengamot broke into discussion. "This trial isn't about Kira," one of the wizards said. "We're only here to judge Prue Halliwell."

"But knowing what you now know about Kira, have your opinions changed about Prue's crime?" Dumbledore asked.

"Oh for Merlin's sake, Albus," the Minister said. "Do you really expect us to overlook two young witches and a wizard breaking a demon—"

"Former demon," Dumbledore corrected.

The Minister's nostrils flared. "—former demon out of prison?"

"Of course not," Dumbledore said, mildly. "Perhaps probation is in order. Understanding, of course, that they will need to use their wands in emergencies."

The Minister sighed. "Have it your way, then. Six months of probation?"

The council voted, and it was decided that Prue would have six months' probation. The trial ended, and Prue followed Grams out of the court room. "What does that mean?"

"You won't be allowed to use your wand for six months," Grams said. "It's a very good ruling, considering what they could have done instead. I've no doubt they'll do the same for Sirius and Phoebe."

Six months without her wand. It wouldn't be too difficult for her, considering that she'd led most of her life without a wand.

Grams led her to the elevator, which lurched backwards, then sideways, and eventually delivered them to the floor where the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was located. They entered one of the offices, and Grams explained their situation to the witch sitting behind a desk. The witch pushed up her glasses, taking a closer look at Prue.

"Well, I never thought I'd see a Charmed One here," she said. She went over to a filing cabinet and pulled out a folder. "You'll have to fill these out. Then an auror will come to put the tracking spell on you."

The paperwork was tedious, but Prue filled it out quickly enough. The auror who came was a tall, thin woman who scowled at Prue.

"We wouldn't have to go through all of this if you'd just turn her over," the witch grumbled, casting spells over Prue.

Prue didn't know how to respond to that, so she said nothing.

"Done," the witch said. "You're free to return home."

Over the next two days, Sirius and Phoebe went through their own trials. As expected, they also received probations. At the end of Phoebe's trial, however, there was a surprise announcement.

"The council has had time to discuss Kira's trial further," the Minister said. "We have decided that Kira will be forgiven for her crimes, so long as she agrees to remain under the guard of a Wiccan witch or wizard, reporting to the Ministry on a weekly basis. She must also accept tracking spells."

Dumbledore, who was again a witness, nodded. "I would be happy to guard Kira, at Hogwarts. I believe she will also be safe from Lord Voldemort there."

Several members of the Wizengamot winced at the mention of Voldemort's name, but Prue was just surprised to learn that Dumbledore was a Wiccan wizard. She'd never seen him use a Wiccan power.

Phoebe, of course, was overjoyed. "Thank you so much," she said, first to the Minister, then to Dumbledore. "You've done the right thing."

The Minister waved his hand. "I'm warning you, though, do something like this again, and we'll send you right to Azkaban!"

This didn't diminish Phoebe's joy in the least. After the trial, they immediately went to Alphard's to tell Kira the good news. Kira hugged Phoebe, then Dumbledore, who was surprised but chuckled.

"So I can be a professor?" Kira said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Of course," Dumbledore said. "I'm sure you'll make a fine one."

With the trials over, Prue was able to relax a little. Mrs. Black still hated her, but they had reached a kind of truce. They'd heard nothing about Voldemort, and Prue took that as a good sign.

All things considered, Prue felt it was safe to say that life was pretty good.

* * *

"How do you feel?" Piper asked her sister.

"Okay," Prue said, letting out a long breath. "Maybe a little nervous. Just a little."

Piper smiled. "That's normal."

"Wow," Paige said as she entered the room and saw her sister. "You look beautiful, Prue."

"Thanks." Prue turned to look at herself in the mirror again. Her mother's dress, with a few alterations, fit her perfectly. Regulus had offered to buy her a dress if she wanted one, but she knew this one was perfect.

Phoebe ushered her sisters out of the room. "See you down there," she said to Prue, then left.

Prue took a deep breath. "You can do this," she said to her reflection. Then, she left the room and descended the stairs.

As she'd planned, she was having her wedding—or rather, handfasting—at the Manor. She could have had a more extravagant wedding, but considering how unpredictable their lives were, she'd thought she'd be safer with a smaller ceremony.

She didn't know why she was so nervous. She loved Regulus, and she was ready to marry him.

She turned the corner to the living room, where the ceremony was being held. Her gaze fell on Regulus, and her nerves disappeared in an instant. She wanted this, more than anything.

Grams performed the ceremony. As she wrapped the cord around Regulus and Prue's hands, Prue stared into her husband's eyes, her heart lifting as she realized she could now call him her husband.

They had decided on Paris for their honeymoon, though they couldn't stay long. Grams and Patty didn't like the idea of Prue being so far from her sisters for too long. Prue didn't mind; even a few days of normality would be a nice break. And she definitely welcomed the idea of getting away from Mrs. Black for a while.

Regulus placed the Black family wedding ring on her finger—how he had gotten it from Mrs. Black, she didn't know—and they kissed.

They had a small reception at the Black house, which Mrs. Black interrupted, screaming about poisoning the Black family. Prue and Regulus took it as their cue to leave for Paris.

Paris was perfect, everything Prue could have asked for. Prue stood at the window of their hotel, watching the sun set. Regulus came up and put his arm around her. She leaned into him. She was thinking about everything that had led up to this moment—discovering her powers, going to Hogwarts, meeting Regulus, finally dating him. Once, she hadn't been so sure about her magic, but because of magic, she had met Regulus. Though she still longed somewhat for a normal life, she was happy that she got to be with Regulus.

She knew that many challenges lay ahead for her and her sisters. Voldemort had to be defeated, and there would always be warlocks and demons coming after them. She would never have a normal life. But maybe, she thought, laying her head on Regulus's chest, she could have a happy life.


End file.
